Silent Hill: Truth
by SHfreak101
Summary: Blaine Haloren, a man haunted by grotesque nightmares since childhood, must return to his hometown of Silent Hill to uncover the Truth. Disturbing plot(Its Silent Hill, after all :P)Please Read and Review! Both endings posted, please Read and Review!
1. Prologue

prologue

_It's a perfect day, and only my Mother and I are there._

"_You and the kid have a fuckin' roast, and leave me hot dogs?!"_

_Nobody else, not even the sky, is there. There's a convenience store behind us. We just came out of it. We're so happy. Ahead is a theater._

"_You were two hours late!"_

_Everyone is there except us. Everyone in Silent Hill attended that performance, except us. I'm smiling._

"_Yeah, making money to feed you ungrateful scum!"_

_Mom wanted to go, but I didn't, just because that way the town could be mine, I could walk around at night and the only hear the background of the music. As close to Heaven as I ever thought possible._

"_Robert, please! He's in the next room!"_

_But night never came. Now everything is gone, except my Mother, and I, and the road we're walking on. And It is there. I'm not happy anymore._

"_You think I give a shit?!"_

_It's coming from behind us. I can't see It. It has a gun. It shoots once, but I hear nothing._

"_God the Father. . ." I'm at my bed, praying when things are bad, but I can't quite remember it._

_It shoots again. "Maybe if you two weren't so fuckin' ungrateful!"_

"_Who art in Heaven. . ." That's where I want to be._

_And again. "Get up to the fucking bed, right now!"_

"_Hallowed be thy name. . ."_

_Now I hear It. Three small tings, as if something metal hit the ground. But that's all I hear. I'm not praying at my bed anymore. But I'm noticing Mom on the ground. She's not moving. It walks up, It is formless. I don't know who It is. It takes her wallet, and It throws her I.D. back on the ground near her. It walks away, and then turns. All of the sudden I know what the inside of a gun looks like. Now I see Mom again, staring at me, but her eyes are telling me I did something wrong._

"_What did I do?" I ask them. "Forgive us our trespasses. . ."_

"_Nothing. . ." They respond. "Nothing at all."_

_Now I'm in my room, but it's a crib. My mother is singing. "As we forgive those. . ."_

_Rock-a-bye baby on the tree-top. . ._

_It shoots again._

_When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. . ._

_And again._

_When the bow breaks, the cradle will fall. . ._

_A third time._

_And down will come baby. . ._

"_Who trespass upon us. . ."_

_Things are happening fast now. Then I can see Mother close up, and I hear three more tings, and footsteps going away from me. I try to get up, but It won't let me. I can't see It, but I know that's whose fault it is; It is the reason I can't get up right now. Voices that are slow, distant and muted, are yelling in panic. I can't see them. I can't see anything, but I know they're there. They're lifting me up, and they put me in my cradle. It's all faster then anything in the world._

_I hear the noise my room used to make, and now I'm in the back seat. There's a loud siren sound, but it plays the tune of the noise my room used to make, and now I'm in Heaven. Everything is slow again. I'm not worrying about missing the performance. I'm not worried about what her eyes say I did. I'm a baby again. I'm always smiling when I'm a baby at night. Not in the daytime, though, this is where I am now. But it feels like night. It feels like a dream. Everything is blending and mixing. Then I'm in a room, and everything goes wrong. Fast again. The walls are melting, all the doors are disappearing, and there's blood on the walls. Horribly fast. The doctors are monsters, pricking me in the arm. I'm trapped. I can't talk, or feel, or breathe, or hear, or see, or taste, and I'm alone. I'm alone in silence. It's the fastest silence ever. Nobody's here, so now I'm screaming, praying to God to see something. To feel something, anything. Now I see Mom again. She says Goodbye, than disappears. It's behind her. I can see the gun again. So horribly slow. . ._

"_Don't leave, Mom!"_

"_Mom!"_

"_Mom. . ."_

"Mom. . ."

Blaine bolted up from the bed. "Mom!"

3


	2. Life

chapter one

His eyes shifted violently from one side of the room to the other. "Mom . . ." He felt tears in his eyes. He was twenty-nine now, but had been ten back then. He had the same nightmare every night from that day on. When he woke up, sometimes he would see the gun, and wake up again. Sometimes it would happen four or five times. He always felt like he was dreaming when he woke up, even if he was awake. Then he heard a loud, incessant siren near him. He was still dreaming. He turned quickly, and his hand hit something. He heard a bang that reminded him of a gunshot, as the siren stopped. The alarm clock was on the floor. It had gone off. He put it back on the nightstand, a plain, square oak one. Everything in this apartment was plain. Working at a convenience store didn't exactly being in enough money to buy a house. But any convenience store was better than that one.

He got off the bed, in his black, ripped boxers, rubbed his eyes, and walked to the bathroom, and took a shower in the old, broken-down bathroom in his old, broken-down apartment. The water was cold, ice-cold, because he couldn't afford it warm. He threw on his brown leather jacket, than realized he forgot to comb his hair. He took out a comb and started to notice his hair disagreeing with him. He combed it as best he could, which wasn't even average, and walked out the door. He locked it, than heard an electrical noise.

"Shit."

He unlocked the door, than walked back into his apartment. He had left the TV on. He walked over to it.

". . . A body was found near a convenience store in Silent Hill earlier today. . ."

Blaine watched the screen.

"Apparently, a young woman was walking back home with her mother. . .

_It shoots once, but I hear nothing. _Blaine cringed.

". . . when a figure appeared in front of them, firing a total of six times."

_It's him, Blaine; the one who shot you._

". . . The mother was pronounced dead at around 1pm today. The daughter is in a coma at St. James Hospital. . ."

Blaine turned off the TV and backed away. "You don't know that. You don't even know if it was a man or a woman." He took out a cigarette, lit it, and put it in his mouth.

_C'mon, man! How could it not be?! 'Walking from the store'?_

"Shut up."

'_Six shots total'_

Blaine got in his old wreck of a car. "I don't want to think about it." He started the car.

_You always wanted to get him_

Blaine violently pushed the stick into gear. "Go away!"

_The answer is right in front of you, Blaine. Why do you refuse to see it?_

Blaine started considering it. "What if it isn't him, or her, for all I know?"

_What if it is? Can you take that risk?_

Blaine slammed the car into reverse, pulled back into the parking lot, and walked back into his apartment, to his nightstand. He opened it, and pulled out a handgun and 20 bullets. Then he stopped. _What the Hell am I doing?_

_What the Hell are you doing, Blaine? Take the gun and let's go._

Blaine hesitated. Then, making sure not to think about what he was doing, he snatched the gun and ran back out to his car. He started it, slammed it into gear, and hit the road.

_Faster, Blaine. You gotta get there soon!_

"I'm going! For God's sake, lay off, man!"

Blaine didn't talk to himself anymore during that long drive to Silent Hill, until he heard his cell phone ringing, when he was more than half-way there.

"Shit!" He said as he fumbled for his cell. He picked it out of his pocket. "Who the fuck could this be?" He flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Blaine!" It was Amanda. His sister was always there for him, mostly when he didn't want her. This was one of those times. She sounded very worried. "I tried to call you at work, but you weren't there."

A long silence. "So?"

"So, was it because of what happened in Silent Hill? I saw the report, too. I thought you might want to talk."

He was annoyed. "Amanda, when have I _ever_ wanted to talk?!"

"I just thought—"

Blaine began rolling down the window. "Not hard enough!" He yelled as he flung it out the window. He would regret that later. He would regret having nobody there with him.

_Wow, she just won't leave you alone, huh?_

"You're telling me."

_It's starting to rain._

Blaine looked out his open window. There was a light rain falling. Blaine closed the window.

Then Blaine saw something on the horizon. It looked like a wall; a grayish white wall. As he drove steadily closer, he realized it was fog. Right before the fog began, there was a sign.

_Now Entering Silent Hill_

It would be a long time before Blaine would see deep meaning in those words.


	3. Traversing the Portals of Reality

chapter two

"Holy shit, I can't see a damn thing!" He exclaimed.

_What in the Hell could make fog do that?_

Blaine thought for a moment. "I don't know, but it did."

He drove in the small road that connects to Nathan Avenue. Blaine slammed on the brakes. "Damn it! I can't see a thing!" He opened the door, and instantly, the fog enveloped him and his car. The air was wet, and it was like a weight on Blaine's shoulders. He walked a few steps. "Hello?" He heard it echo, and then noticed the strangest thing of all; silence. Blaine could hear no motors, no hums, no distant voices; nothing. The fog seemed to be the only inhabitant of this town. Blaine yelled at the top of his lungs. "Hello?!"

_. . .Hello?!_

_. . .hello. . ._

"Where the Hell is everybody?" Blaine turned around, opened the door to his car, reached in, and pulled out his handgun, and all his ammunition.

_It's not possible for people to simply vanish, Blaine._

Blaine loaded a clip into the handgun. "That's what happened to Dad, isn't it?"

_You know he went somewhere._

Blaine said nothing. He walked up Nathan Avenue, hoping to find people at the Lakeview Hotel.

"Blaine. . ."

Blaine spun around. "Hello?"

No answer.

"Is anybody there?"

Still no response.

Blaine turned and ran. Not fast, because he was convincing himself that he wasn't scared and didn't hear anything. Blaine felt his foot slide. He fell hard to the ground, but his head hit nothing. He opened his eyes, and saw more fog. Blaine bolted to his feet and backed up.

The entire width of the road was gone. It was obliterated, like a bomb had gone off under it. There was no way to get to the other side.

"Holy shit. . ."

_This isn't possible, Blaine_

"Don't you think I know that?" He looked around. He had already passed the hotel. "That's it, I'm getting out of here."

_You could go through the back door of the hotel to get to the other side. You've stayed there before._

Blaine looked at his car, then at the hotel. He could feel his heart pounding. He knew he was getting into something big. He turned and walked to the hotel, going over the fence and up the small set of stairs. The doors creaked open, they had to be forced.

"Hello?" No answer.

_Blaine, you've done this already._

"Hello?!" Still nothing. He walked down the small hallway.

"Mr. Haloren!"

Blaine turned to the left, to see the door leading to some of the rooms. "Who's there?" He walked slowly up to it. It creaked open as well. "Who called my name?" Blaine couldn't see the end of the hallway. He started walking down it. He walked for three minutes, to find no end to the hallway. "I don't remember it being this long. . ."

He kept walking.

"Blaine!"

Blaine stopped.

"Help!"

He recognized the voice. "Amanda. . .?"

"_HELP ME!!_"

Blaine ran down the hallway as fast as he could, focusing on what was ahead of him, not noticing the doors blending with the walls. His eyes closed for a moment.

_I thought you might want to talk?_

_When have I ever wanted to talk?!_

_Maybe when Dad disappeared. . ._

_I don't want to talk about that._

_Blaine, if you'd just open up to me. . ._

His eyes opened again. The doors were gone. Blaine looked around, but he could barely see anything. It was pitch black. He took a step.

_Clang!_

He stopped. He could feel his heart rate rising. The floor was metal. "This. . .isn't possible."

_You're damn right it isn't._

Blaine took a few more steps, until he heard a faint rattling in the distance. He turned around, and it got louder, and louder. Now it was individual footsteps, coming at him. Blaine didn't know what to do, until he received instructions.

_RUN!!_

Blaine ran, again, as fast as he could, down the never-ending hall, still hearing the clanging sounds of his shoes hitting metal. There was a hanging light on the ceiling, swinging back and forth. Now Blaine could see the walls. They were rusted, as were the floors and ceiling, like at one point, the whole building was made of iron. He saw blood running down the walls, coming from nowhere, like the walls were alive, and they looked like they were moving, pulsing to some unheard heartbeat. Blaine was now past the light, back in darkness. He closed his eyes for a moment, then hit something, and fell back.

_The answer. . ._

Blaine opened his eyes.

_. . .is right in front of you._

In front of him, was something that looked human in its shape. It had no face, it looked as though it had been removed. Its head appeared to have no skin. When Blaine saw it, the sounds stopped behind him. His eyes couldn't focus. He grabbed his handgun, raised it, and fired. The creature almost fell backwards. Blaine got up, and starting slowly backing up. It recovered from the blast, and again, starting walking towards Blaine. He shot again. Now he was shooting repeatedly, as he walked backwards. He felt something touch his back, and he looked behind him, still pointing his weapon at the beast.

There was a wall.

Blaine could feel his heart beat faster, and then a light hanging from the ceiling, exactly like the one Blaine had seen earlier, flickered on, then off. Blaine saw a wall behind the creature as well. Now he was completely trapped. He kept firing, and the creature wouldn't fall down. His gun clicked. He reached in his pocket, and pulled out another clip. The creature got closer. Blaine began firing again, but now it was like the creature didn't even feel it.

_It shoots once, but I hear nothing. . ._

Blaine suddenly felt pain, unbelievable pain, in his head. He clutched it as hard as he could. Then he heard that siren, the ambulance siren, distorted and mixing with everything else. He couldn't hold his arm up anymore, and he fell to his knees. Tears flowed down his cheeks, as memories flashed through his mind.

"_You and the kid have a fucking roast, and leave me hot dogs!"_

It was coming closer, and Blaine could do nothing.

"'_I'm going to the store, I'll be back in a few minutes' is what he said, Blaine, and he hasn't come back in ten years!"_

Blaine was crying, time was going horribly slow, as it came closer.

"He'll be back. . ." Blaine muttered.

He sobbed.

"He'll be back. . ."

His eyes opened to see a claw speeding towards him.

_I see a lake, from the cabin I always went to as a child. I'm all alone here, but I don't remember how I got here. I didn't want to go swimming, but I made myself. I'm at the edge of a dock. I don't want to go in, but Amanda's going to kill me if I don't. I look at her, standing near the trees, and I realize that I have to dive in, because Amanda's going to die if I don't. I look at the water, than at Dad, standing near the dock, and I know that now I have to swim, or else Dad will disappear. I look at Mom in the sky, staring at me, and her eyes are talking to me._

"_You have to dive in, Blaine, or else you'll never know what happened."_

_Again, I realize that I'm completely alone. I look into the murky depths of the water, and I take a deep breath, and jump off. I fall for hours before I hit the water._

_But now I'm stuck. I can see the surface above me, but something's holding me here. I look down, and it's me, grabbing my leg, forcing me to stay under._

"_Don't kill me, Amanda!"_

"_Amanda. . ."_

"Amanda. . ."

Blaine bolted up. "Amanda!" His eyes slowly focused. His memory slowly came back to him. Tears were on his cheeks. He remembered the cabin, and the lake, and the creature. "Was it all. . .a dream. . ."

He then realized he was in the hotel. He looked around. He was lying down in the entrance to the hallway. Everything was as normal as it had been. Blaine slowly helped himself up. "It couldn't have been a dream, because it hurt. . ."

_Believe me, Blaine, it was._

He grabbed his head again, the pain was not completely gone. He noticed his handgun on the ground. He picked it up. There were no bullets. He reached into his pocket. He had no more clips. "Oh shit. . ." Blaine walked back, slowly, to the entrance.

_Blaine? What the Hell do you think you're doing?_

"I'm getting out of this fucked up Hell hole."

Blaine exited the building, and stopped. He could see his car in the distance, but it was out of his reach, because another chasm had appeared in the road.

Blaine's eyes widened. "No. . .No way."

He looked the other way. The original hole in the road was still there. He was trapped. He had to go through the hotel.

_No way to go but forward, Blaine._


	4. Dead End

chapter three

Blaine walked into the hotel lobby, and up to the reception area. He rang the bell. It echoed too much for a small bell. Blaine sighed. "Hello?"

_Geez, Blaine, how many times are you going to do this?_

Blaine went to the north door, and put his hand to the knob.

It wouldn't open. He pulled harder, but still, it wouldn't open. "Is it locked?" He twisted the handle. It went all the way around. "Oh damn, the lock is broken!"

He turned around, and began to walk to the Toluca restaurant, when he saw a map hanging on the wall. He took a look at it, and decided he didn't need it. He walked into the restaurant, and looked around. He remembered this as the hotel he, his Mother, and his Father, had stayed in before deciding to move here.

"_Oh wow, Blaine, this town is so perfect."_

"_It's great for the little squirt. There's a school, and an amusement park. The houses are really cheap, too."_

Blaine stood there for a few minutes, before his memories skipped ahead.

"_Linda. . . Don't you remember? This is where we decided to move here."_

He remembered his Father sobbing and weeping.

"_Why did you have to die?!"_

He remembered putting his arms around him.

"_Its okay, Dad. We're going to be okay. Let's go home, this was a bad idea."_

"_God damn it, Blaine! We can't go home!"_

Blaine remembered that his confusion in that moment lasted a lifetime.

"_They took our house! You think I can pay the fucking bills?!"_

He remembered Dad falling to his knees, everybody staring at them.

"_I wanted to tell you before, but I couldn't. . ."_

Blaine stood there, and he shook his head, then noticed something he hadn't before.

The window that led to the balcony was smashed open. The shards of glass were spread over the carpet. Blaine walked up to it. There was a large crowbar. He picked it up, and stepped out onto the balcony. "Hello?"

_Blaine! Jesus, man! GIVE IT A REST! NOBODY is here!_

"Somebody bashed in the window, and it must have been recently, because nobody picked up the glass."

_Who the Hell could be here right now?_

"_Blaine. . ." _It was the same voice he had heard earlier. _"Blaine. . ."_

He looked around. "God dammit! Who is here?"

It was coming from under the deck. Blaine looked down.

"_Please Blaine, you have to find me."_

He bent down, looking under the deck. Then he heard growling. His eyebrows widened as the deck broke under him, and he felt two hands push him into the air. He landed a few feet away. He looked up, and saw it.

It was similar to the one he had seen earlier, except it was slightly shorter, and had no hands. But the biggest difference was the head. It was a woman's head. Blaine looked at it, slowly backing away. It was moving steadily towards him, and it spoke again, this time the voice was more distorted and slow.

"_You heard me, didn't you?"_

Blaine felt his back hit a table. "Stay away!"

It continued to come closer. Blaine clutched his crowbar. "I'll use it!"

He then saw no point in talking to it, because it wasn't human. Its skin was red and leathery, but its head stuck out, and it was unrecognizable, because it looked so beaten. Both its eyes were closed, and it had no mouth from which to speak.

"_Blaine!"_

Blaine felt panic ensuing, and quickly swung his weapon, hitting it in the head. The creature roared, and stumbled backwards.

"_Blaine!"_

Blaine swung again, from over his head. The creature fell to the ground, on its back. He raised the crowbar to hit it again, then felt its arm lash out and his leg with surprising force.

"_Blaine!"_

Blaine stepped back, then ran and kicked the beast, turning it onto its back. It writhed and squirmed on the ground, reminding him of someone in a seizure. It continued saying his name, now in erratic, random outbursts. Blaine felt rage inside him, raised his foot, and dug his heel into its chest. It roared one last time, before becoming still.

Blaine was panting. "Oh God. . ." He turned around, kneeled around, and threw up. He was hacking and coughing. After a few minutes, he stopped. "I've never killed anything before."

_Not as easy as they make it seem on the movies, huh?_

"Not at all." He hacked again, then wiped his mouth, and got up. "Could _it _have bashed in the window?" He thought about it for a moment.

_It doesn't have hands, Blaine._

"So who bashed in the fucking window?!"

He heard no response. He looked at the creature again, and felt nauseous. He walked back into hotel, and out of the restaurant. He went into the lobby and up to the north door.

_It's not gonna magically fix itself, Blaine._

Blaine raised his crowbar. "You're right." He swung and hit the door once. It didn't open. He hit it again. It moved inwards, but didn't open.

"_Why the fuck didn't you protect her, Blaine?! Then we could still have the goddamn house!"_

"It wasn't. . ._my fault!_" He yelled as he swung. He heard a loud crack, and the door opened. Again, the fog constricted his vision. "It wasn't my fault, Dad." He hung his head, than slowly, silently, left the hotel.


	5. She

chapter four

As he walked up Nathan Avenue, it was the first time he really looked at the fog. It was unbelievable. He literally couldn't see two feet in front of him. He looked all around him. It looked like he was in a white void, trapped and alone. What it looked like wasn't too far off from what it actually _was_.

_What the Hell was that thing, Blaine?_

"It was a person." He assured himself. "Somebody with an illness or something, who was crazy."

_Is that the best you can come up with? Seriously, Blaine._

"Damn it, I don't know what the Hell it was, but I'm telling you right now, there's no such thing as monsters!"

_That's what it was, Blaine._

Blaine stopped walking. He grabbed his hair. "Am I going fucking insane?!"

_That would be the logical conclusion._

"Maybe I'm seeing things." His scalp hurt. "I've been really restless lately, and I haven't been sleeping much. . ." He started walking again.

_Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? You don't sleep that well, so monsters come out of the floor and try to kill you._

"Stop it! If you don't know what it was, then stop asking _me_!"

_I'd stop walking if I were you._

Blaine stopped walking. There was another hole in the road ahead. "Not again. . ." But again, there was no visible way around it. "Thank God I've lived here before. The amusement park should come out past the hole, right?"

_If I remember correctly, yes._

Blaine walked up to the open gates under the large sign.

_Lakeside Amusement Park_

"There has to be people inside."

_Why? There's nobody at the gates._

"Jesus Christ. . .what is going on in this town?"

Blaine saw the gates, and started remembering the first time he had been to that been to that amusement park

"_Oh no. . ."_

"_What?"_

"_Robert, I don't think we have enough."_

"_What?! We made sure we had enough before we came!"_

"_I must have left some back in Portland."_

"_So now I can't even have fun with my own fucking kid?!"_

He remembered Mom crying.

"_It was an accident, Robert. . ."_

"_Maybe if I hadn't married a dumbass like you, I wouldn't have to take a kid to some fuckin' amusement park!"_

He remembered his vision blurred from tears.

"_Robert, please don't, everybody is looking. . ."_

"_Yeah, looking at a dumb bitch! Get in the goddamn car, we're going back to the damn hotel to find your fucking money!"_

"_I think it's in Portland. . ."_

It was the first time he had his Father so angry.

"_Yeah?!"_

It was the first time he ever saw him hit her.

"_Well maybe it's not!"_

Blaine shook his head.

_Look behind you, Blaine._

Blaine turned around. The gate was shut behind him. He stepped back, his mouth wide open. "Okay, somebody else _has got _to be here."

_The town's empty, Blaine._

"Somebody closed the gate!"

_Who?_

"Goddamn it! You _know _I can't answer that!" Blaine started to walk through the park, seeing the empty, deserted rides and roller coasters. It was cement he was walking on. There were bunny costumes scattered everywhere; it was Robbie, the amusement park mascot. There were buildings and structures everywhere. Clothes stores, restaurants, portable washrooms, even video stores. It felt crowded, even though nobody was there. "So stop asking!"

"_Blaine. . ."_

Blaine spun around. "Shit. . .another one?"

Then he saw it, except this one had no head. It was banging on a portable washroom. Blaine watched it. "God, what the Hell are these things?"

_Monsters, Blaine. Now that you're seeing it right now, you can tell it's not human._

He was right. It definitely wasn't human. Blaine snuck up behind it, raised his crowbar, and delivered a single fatal blow to its back. He turned away again, because he couldn't stand the way it looked, or the thought of killing something. He quickly turned and began walking.

"Blaine?"

He turned quickly, his crowbar raised.

"Is that you, Blaine?"

It wasn't one of them. It sounded much too human. It was coming from the washroom. Blaine walked up to it. "Yes, I'm Blaine."

The door to the washroom swung open, and instantly Blaine was in the grips of a hug.

"Amanda?"

She was crying. "I'm so glad you're here."

Blaine felt relief course through his body. "Amanda. . ." He put his arms around her. His eyes closed for a moment, remembering the last time he was hugging her. She had been crying then, as well.

"_Where did he say he going, Blaine?"_

"_Just to the store to get beer."_

"_How long ago?"_

"_Four days, now. That's the last time I saw him. I've already called the police, don't worry."_

"_But what if they can't find him?!"_

"_They will. They have to."_

He opened his eyes again. "Amanda. . .what are you doing here?"

She slowly stopped hugging. "I. . ." She sobbed.

"It's okay. Calm down, and tell me."

She cried for a few moments, then continued. "I assumed that you would come here, so I came here too. I saw your car outside the hotel. . ."

Blaine raised the crowbar. "Did you break the window?"

"Yes. The door was locked."

_The door was wide open, Blaine._

"Then what?"

"I looked all over the hotel for you, then I went out the back door, and came here. . ."

_That door was broken, Blaine._

". . .I saw that. . ." She sobbed again. ". . ._thing_. . .and it came after me. . ." She hugged him again. "Oh God, Blaine, it was horrible!"

He put his arms around her again. "It's okay. I'm here now."

"I ran in there because I thought I'd be safe."

Blaine's eyes closed in a blink. _Was she running from Dad again?_

"_I ran in there because I thought I'd be safe."_

"_It's okay. I'm here now. You know how he gets when he's mad."_

"_But he got in! Oh God, Blaine, he hit me so many times!"_

The blink ended. _Don't think about it, Blaine._

Blaine thought for a moment. "Amanda, listen carefully. I want you to go back through the hotel and leave."

Blaine cringed when he saw the tears on her cheeks. "No, I can't leave without you."

They were both silent. Amanda pulled out a cell phone. "Here, take it. I bought you another one."

"Amanda, go back."

"Not without you."

"Fine then." Blaine sighed. "Go to your car, then call me, and tell me if you can get out."

"Well, I got in, so I should be able to get out."

"Please do it. I promise that if we _can _leave, I'll leave with you."

"Blaine, I don't want to be alone in this place. . ." She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a handgun clip. "I found this. I'd assumed you brought your gun."

Blaine took the clip, and put it in his handgun. Then he stopped for a moment. "Take the gun, Amanda."

"No!"

"Please, try and go back. You'll be fine with this."

"Blaine, please!"

"Amanda, I promise that I'll leave if it's possible."

Amanda closed her watery eyes, then opened them. ". . . Promise?"

"I promise."

She slowly reached out and took the gun. "If you need me, just call. I'll come running."

She turned and left.

_Do you think she'll be okay?_

"Of course she will."

Blaine walked until he saw the exit gate.

"_Blaine! Answer my question!"_

He looked around. He didn't see any of them. Then he heard a different sound. A more familiar one. He remembered he first heard outside the gates of the park. That circus music that always plays in a theme like this. He looked all around. The sound was all around him.

"_What?! We made sure we had enough before we came!"_

Then he heard a violent 'clunk!' and turned to see a ride starting.

"_So now I can't even have fun with my own fucking kid?!"_

The music got louder, until Blaine had to put his hands over his ears.

"_Maybe if I hadn't married a dumbass like you, I wouldn't have to take a kid to some fuckin' amusement park!"_

Now he could hear the persistent whirl of every ride in the park at once.

"_Yeah?!"_

Then again, the siren. The horrible ambulance siren.

"_Well maybe it's not!"_

He clutches his head in pain, before it completely overtook him. He fell to his knees, and screamed. His head hit the cement, and he was out cold.

_I'm back at home. I'm at my bed, praying when things are bad. I pray a lot. Mom and I had that roast for dinner. There wasn't much left, so we ate it all. Dad's two hours late, but I can hear him coming in the door. He sounds happy._

"_Hey honey, I'd sure like some of that roast we've got."_

_I can feel Mom's expression darken. She's trying to sound happy. "Well, Blaine and I ate it."_

_I can hear him walking into the kitchen. "What did you prepare for me, then?"_

"_There are some hot dogs thawing in the sink. . ."_

_He's at the sink. "You and the kid have a fuckin' roast, and leave me hot dogs?!"_

"_You were two hours late!"_

"_Yeah, making money to feed you ungrateful scum!"_

"_Robert, please! He's in the next room!"_

"_You think I give a shit?! Maybe if you two weren't so fuckin' ungrateful!"_

_But I'm not at my room. I'm in the room next to it, only dreaming that I'm in my room, praying. But I can't be there, because I'm hugging Amanda, who's crying just as much as me. She's telling me I have to stop dreaming, so I do. Now there's a loud siren, different than the others._

_I'm reaching into my pocket._

_I pull out a cell phone. I flip it open._

"_Blaine, wake up!"_

"_What. . .?"_

"_There's no way out!"_

Blaine bolted up. "What?!"


	6. Silent Circus

chapter five

"The road is gone!"

"Oh, Amanda, it's you. . ."

"What . . . Hel. . . .oing. . here, Blai. .?!"

He started hearing static. "The line's breaking up!"

"Pl . .se. . .do. .t . .go. . ." It went dead.

"Amanda? Amanda!" He folded it closed. "Damn it!"

He tried to get up, but a sharp pain went up his back, and he fell back down.

_Clang!_

Blaine turned his head. The floor was mesh, and rusted, just like the hotel. "Jesus!"

_It's happening again, Blaine._

"No it isn't. . ."

_Blaine, stop it._

"But last time I was almost passing out!" He was desperately looking for an excuse for this time to be different. "This _has_ to be different!"

He looked around. The darkness around him was as strangling and heavy as the fog. Blaine held his head as he slowly got up, forcing himself to ignore the pain.

_There's a flashlight in your pocket, Blaine._

"No, there isn't. I didn't bring one."

_I did._

"What. . .?"

_Reach into your pocket, Blaine._

Blaine put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out a flashlight. "Must've been in there from when the power went out yesterday." H felt over it, looking for a switch. "God, why do they these things so damn hard to find?!"

His finger found it, and he flicked it on. The light brightened slowly. He could see movement, than realized it was in the air, in front of him. He blinked. There was a hanging, dead body in front of him, hanging from the tip of a roller coaster track above. The movements he saw were maggots, writhing and twisting over it. Blaine screamed and turned around. He put his hand over his mouth and fell to his knees. He looked down, and immediately got back up. Beneath the mesh was a river of blood, flowing and bubbling, sometimes splashing above it. Blood hit Blaine's shoes.

He ran in the opposite direction, and could feel tears on his cheeks. He could hear the ambulance siren in the distance. He was sure not to look down, as he stumbled away from the horrors. He found the wall of a building, and brushed his hand against it. It was wet. He looked at his hand. It was blood. He leaned his back against it, barely being able to stand anymore. He stood there and cried.

"_Blaine. . ."_

Suddenly the wall behind him burst, and Blaine felt hands around his neck, and bricks from the wall fell on him, bruising him, causing his nose to bleed. Blaine clutched his crowbar, and brought it backwards over his head, bringing the creature behind him to the ground. Blaine got up and turned around. It was trying to get up. Immediately he swung it again, hitting its head, killing it. Blaine again had to look away, because he had crushed the monster's head. He put his hands over his eyes. "Oh God, why is this happening to me?" He sobbed. "I've got to be dreaming! God, tell me this is a dream!"

_Blaine, snap out of it!_

"No! I want to go home! I want to go to my bed and pray!"

_Christ, Blaine! You're not a kid anymore! Stop running!  
_

Blaine stood there for a moment, still not daring to open his eyes. "I want to get out of here!"

_Well, if you want to get out of here, than open your eyes and find the damn exit!_

"No, I don't want to."

"_I don't want to, Mom."_

_Blaine, open your eyes!_

"_I don't want roast anymore."_

"I. . .I can't!"

_Yes you can, Blaine!_

"It's too hard!"

"_Someday you're going to have to face it, Blaine."_

"_I don't want to! It's too hard!"_

"_She's dead! Do you hear me, dead!"_

"_What if they made a mistake! She's never going to die! She's my Mother, she's not allowed!"_

"_Blaine, you're not a kid anymore! I know it's hard, but you have to do it!"_

"_Why should I listen to you?! You HATED her!"_

"_Blaine, I—"_

"_Go away!"_

"_Please. . ."_

"_GO AWAY!"_

Blaine opened his eyes. "I don't have to listen to you!"

"_What do you mean you don't have to listen to me?!"_

He felt rage pulsing with his veins. "You hated her, always made her cry!" He raised his crowbar, and delivered another blow to the dead creature.

"_Robert, don't!"_

"_Then do as I say!"_

He hit it again. "And then you would hit her!"

"_I'm sorry. . .don't hit me anymore. . ."_

The creature barely had a form anymore, as Blaine kept hitting it. "And I would try to stop you, and you'd hit me, too!"

"_No, Robert, leave him alone!"_

"_Shut up! Somebody has to discipline to damn kid!"_

"_There's a difference between discipline and beating!"_

Blaine stopped. His eyes focused and he saw what was left of the monster. He felt his stomach lurch. He turned around and threw up again. It was only bile. He had a fleeting thought that he was beating the monster; sinking as low as his father. "What did hitting people ever _do _for you, Dad?!"

_It helped him hide from all his own problems, Blaine._

Blaine kneeled there a moment before getting up. He was genuinely frightened from the atmosphere around him.

_What are you going to do now?_

"I'm going back to the exit, and I'm going to try the gate."

_What if the whole town's like this? What then?_

His teeth gritted. "I don't care if it is! I'm going to find out just what the _fuck _is going on, and get the Hell out of here!"

_The gate's going to be locked._

He felt horrible sadness rush through him. "I know that. . . But I have to try."

_Why? What are you trying for? You still can't see the answer, and even now, it's right in front of you. If you can't see it, don't even bother trying._

"Do _you _know what the answer is?"

_Of course not, Blaine. But it has to be here somewhere._

"And I'm going to find it."

But he was right. When Blaine got to the gate, it was, indeed, refusing to open. He looked up at the darkness. "_Why is this happening to me?!_"

"C'mon Blaine, wake up!"

He suddenly heard it again. The horrible ambulance siren, all around him. "No!" He yelled. "Not again. . ." He fell to his knees. "Please. . ." He screamed as the world around him twisted and swirled, and eventually, as his eyes closed, faded.

_I'm in some kind of hallway. The walls are rusted and bloody, but I'm not afraid of them, because they're always like that, so I'm used to it. I'm an adult, but Amanda is a child. She's walking in front of me with a flashlight, but she doesn't realize I'm here._

"_Blaine?" She asks the walls. "Where are you, Blaine?" I keep telling her I'm right here, but she won't listen, like I'm dead, or invisible. I can hear that tune my room used to play._

_Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top. . ._

_Amanda's singing to me, looking for me, but I can't let her find me, even though I'm looking for her, too._

_When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. . ._

_Now I know why she can't find me. I'm in my cradle, and for some reason, she doesn't think to look there._

_When the bow breaks, the cradle will fall. . ._

_Suddenly the floor beneath me is giving way. I can hear a crack, and then Amanda sees me, but I fall before she can get to me._

_And down will come baby. . ._

_There are hanging corpses around me, and I know they're my parents, but I still can't look at them, because I'm afraid to see ugly things._

"_Just look at us." They're saying. "We're nothing to fear."_

_But I do fear them, because they're so hideous. My cell phone rings again. So I reach into my pocket and pull it out, but it's a gun. "Hello?"_

"_Blaine, please wake up!"_

"_Dad?"_

"_Dad. . ."_

"Dad. . ."

Blaine's body shot upwards. "Dad!"


	7. Heaven Give me Say

chapter six

"No, Blaine, it's me."

His eyes slowly starting forming shapes from the mixtures of colours he saw around him. He blinked as his vision began to clear, despite the sweat running down his face.

". . .Amanda?"

She seemed relieved. "Yes, it's me."

Blaine looked around. He felt his face. He wasn't bleeding anymore. "Where. . .am I?"

"You're at the amusement park. There's no way out, Blaine. I told you on the phone, but it went dead. I came to get you, and found you here. You were out for fifteen minutes after I found you."

Blaine slowly got up. He was walking on cement. There was vomit where his head had been. Suddenly the message hit him. He wiped his eyes. He had been crying. He then looked around quickly. "I was dreaming?"

_There's no way that was a dream, Blaine._

"Blaine, its okay. . ." She put her hand on his shoulder.

He quickly pushed it away. "How do I know this isn't a dream, too?!"

"Blaine, what are—"

He backed away quickly. "Stop it! You can't be real! No of this can be real!" He kneeled down.

"You're not dreaming. I'm real, Blaine."

He was shaking. "How do I know that? You remember the dreams I used to have. . ."

_It's a perfect day, only my Mother and I are there._

"I never knew when they were done! How do I know I'm not dreaming _right now_, and I'm still in Portland, in my apartment, in my bed. Maybe I fell asleep at work. . ."

"Blaine, this is _real_!"

"But it can't be!" He was in shock.

She put her arms around him. "Blaine, get yourself together! Then we can leave and never come back!"

Blaine was breathing hard. _But it wasn't a dream. We were right there, in the middle of it. There was a hanging man, and blood under the floor, and the buildings. . ._

_Blaine, she's right. Get up, brush off, and get the fuck out of here! I know you hate it. So do I. Promise me we'll never come back. We'll never come back. I'm going to find out what's going on, first. Of course you will, because if you don't, you'll never be able to leave. What's going on. . .? I don't know._

Blaine looked up at Amanda. He took a few moments to calm down. "You're right, Amanda." He got up again, and rubbed his temples. He just realized his head was throbbing. He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Blaine looked at her, and realized how much he loved her, and how much he misses her. "We're going to get out of here."

"How?"

"There is an exit in Central Silent Hill, Old Silent Hill, and South Vale. We're going to try all of them, until one of them works." Then he noticed the gate out of the Amusement Park was wide open.

_It was closed so tight it wouldn't even open, Blaine._

"Let's go." He said as they started to leave.

Amanda held out the handgun. "Let me hold the crowbar. I don't trust myself with a handgun."

Blaine handed over the crowbar and took the handgun. "Did you have to shoot anything?"

"No, thank God."

_You've always protected her, haven't you, Blaine?_

"_No, Dad, it was me! I'm the one who hid the remote, not Amanda!"_

_And he would actually believe you, wouldn't he? Amanda would beg you not to take the blame, but you always did. You were beaten almost every single day, and you kept doing it willingly to protect her. Why won't you help her now? I am helping her right now. Oh right, I forgot._

"What's wrong, Blaine?"

"Oh, nothing."

_You'd say that a lot too, before, when Mom would hit you. Mom never hit me. There was once, wasn't there, Blaine? A long time ago, but we were really pissing her off, and I deserved it. But Amanda was doing most of it, wasn't she? I don't like seeing get hurt. She deserved better. And what about you? I don't deserve anything. Isn't that Dad talking? Isn't it true, though? Only if you think so, Blaine._

Blaine took a deep breath. It felt like he was breathing water, rather than air.

_I'm just so sick of being alone. I know, Blaine. Not just now, either, but all my life. Because of Dad? No, not just because of Dad. You mean the time you tried to tell people? Exactly. My school teacher, my friends, and nobody would listen. It's like I've always been quiet and alone. Don't you mean 'silent' and alone?_

Suddenly they felt the ground shaking beneath them. Amanda fell down, and Blaine was shaken in the other direction. The sound of pavement cracking and breaking was overwhelming. Blaine had to scream as loud as he could. "Amanda?! Are you okay?!"

He didn't hear anything. She could see him, but she couldn't hear him. Blaine saw a crack going across the pavement, and suddenly that crack widened, breaking the earth beneath it. Blaine managed to get to his feet, when he saw the crack heading for him. He dove out of the way. Now the cracks had made a giant "T" shape. Amanda was forced to run to the docks leading to the lighthouse. Blaine, in a state of confusion and shock, noticed the fog weaken until he could see his sister. He watched Amanda run down the docks in a panic as the crack followed her. He watched in horror as the dock started to shatter from the pressure, and then the fog thickened once more. The rumbling stopped, until he only heard the sounds of wood breaking.

"Amanda?!" He heard no response. "Amanda!" The sound echoed for miles and miles, but nobody was there to hear it. The crack had expanded, making another hole in the road.

_You failed to protect her again, Blaine. I've always protected her! He shoots once._

_That was my Mother! You've always failed to protect women, haven't you?! Isn't that why you decided to leave Kelly? Don't bring her into this! Don't you hate women? Shut up! Ever since Mom hit you that one time, you've never liked a girl, never even dreamed of marriage, or children. You can only think of women as 'friends', or Amanda as your sister._

Blaine saw himself in front of him. "You've never even dreamed of touching somebody, or kissing them. The only one you care about is Amanda, and she's family."

"Shut up!"

He walked up to Blaine, and patted him on the shoulder. "Blaine, you need to get over it. Stop hating women. Mom only hit you once."

Blaine pushed his hand away. "I'll find somebody some day!"

He laughed. "So why did you leave Kelly?" He started walking in circles around Blaine.

"I never loved her!"

"That's exactly it! You know you could never love somebody until you realize that all women are not your Mother!"

"Go away, you fucking asshole!" Blaine said as he raised his handgun and shot him. He vanished.

_Blaine, I'm only trying to help!_

"Then tell me how to get out of here!"

_I told you, you can't get out until you find out what's going on!_

"Then tell me how to do that."

_Go to the convenience store._

"What about Amanda?"

_I don't think she lived, Blaine._

Blaine felt tears. "God damn it. . ."

_Please just go, Blaine. Trust me, Everything is going to be okay._

"Once I find out what's going on, right?"

_Exactly._

Blaine walked down the streets of Silent Hill, first going to Central Silent Hill, but eventually, to Convenience Store 8 in Old Silent Hill. It was the first time he walked with the knowledge of what he was going to do.


	8. Follow the Leader

chapter seven

Now, as Blaine walked across the Sandford Street Bridge, he noticed a gentle drift of snow amongst the fog. He began walking north, up Bachman Road, and he turned to see Annie's Bar. His thoughts wandered all around, through his mind, into his memories.

"_Robert, where have you been this whole time?"_

He remembered hearing his Father trying to come up with an answer, but he was too drunk to even speak coherently.

"_You think I need to . . . tell a dumbass like you. . ."_

"_Oh my God, you're drunk!"_

"_Shut up!"_

"_But I didn't—"_

"_I said shut up!"_

He had already thought of all the horrible times he and Amanda had watched their Father hit their Mother, than apologize profusely. But this time, he had seen Amanda crying, and walked up to his Father, only to learn that he wasn't afraid of hitting his son. That was the first time.

Blaine simply walked. He let his thoughts go wherever they wanted to.

"_Blaine! Blaine, wake up!"_

"_Mom . . .? What is it?"_

"_There's a fire!"_

That was the last time he had ever seen his house, and the day before his Mother had been shot. Dad had been in Ashfield for work, and was devastated when he came home. All their possessions had been burnt to nothing, but for some reason, few of Blaine's nightmares concerned that night. The ones that did were horrific. He had managed to forget about the fire, until now, when the memory crept once more into his consciousness.

_Blaine, why am I always the one to make you notice these?_

He snapped back into reality. He had already made it to Bradbury Street. There was another hole in the road, right ahead of him.

_So Bachman Road is blocked, and of course the convenience store is due north from here. Try Ellroy Street._

Blaine started going east, and immediately hit another hole.

_Go west and try Levin Street._

That way was blocked as well.

_The last one is Midwich Street._

As Blaine turned the corner of Midwich and Bradbury Street, he saw his old school, Midwich Elementary.

_You remember that place, don't you? The kids didn't like you very much. They beat you up because your Dad beat you up. They beat you up because you wouldn't let them beat Amanda up. But it wasn't all bad. That's where you first met Kelly. She was a good friend, and you two would always hang out._

"Oh God, no, not another one!" Blaine could barely make out the words he heard. He turned quickly, and saw a silhouette vanishing into the fog, heading towards the school. "Hey!" He yelled, but it ran faster. Blaine ran after it, and watched it run into the school. He stopped.

_You don't want to go in there, do you?_

Blaine shook his head. "This damn town has already made me remember things I never wanted to, and that's all I'm going to get in there."

_Do you know who just stepped in there?_

Blaine thought for a moment, than stepped back. "No way." He said. "Sorry, but that's not possible."

_You know who it looked like._

He looked at the door, than the street. "Damn it." He said as he pushed open the doors. As he closed them, he seemed to hear the incessant footsteps and chatter of children through the halls.

He walked to the reception area; there was a list on the counter.

"_Moore, Rinaldo, Gordon. . ."_ A list of the teachers.

"_Mr. Haloren! About time you decided to join us!"_

"_Sorry, Mr. Rinaldo, my Dad. . ."_

"_Your Dad what?"_

"_. . ."_

"_What happened?"_

"_. . . nothing."_

"_One more late and it's a detention."_

_But you told him later that day, after school, and he just laughed at it, didn't he?_

"_Blaine, stupid people make excuses. Don't make excuses."_

_And then you told Mrs. Moore, as well, and at least she talked to your Dad._

"And he _charmed_ her. . ."

_And she walked away laughing. You never told anybody else. . ._

"They wouldn't have believed me."

_. . . except Kelly._

"Why do you go on about her?"

_Because you're thinking about her. Blaine, she was your only friend. You two would hang out all the time, mostly you'd go off into the woods for a few hours, and play pretend. You liked playing pretend. Pretending you and Kelly were the only ones in the world._

Blaine felt a tear on his cheek.

_Pretending that Dad never hit you, that Dad never hit Mom, that Dad never got drunk, that Dad never hit Amanda, that Dad never came home late. . ._

Blaine covered his eyes with his hand, and started sobbing.

_You'd pretend that you and Kelly were married, and had children, and you were a good Father, and then Dad would come and be proud. And Dad would come, he came a lot, to tell you were in trouble, to tell you to come in. . ._

He hit the counter with his fist. "Damn it!" He said through tears.

_And where is she now, Blaine? Mom hit you once, and suddenly you stopped hanging around her. She stopped coming over. You stopped going out to the forest, except that one day. . . Your friendship with her was dying, dying until the day you got shot._

Blaine could only remember crying like this as a child. "Shut up!" He yelled. "I didn't want to come in here! I _hate _this fucking place!" He pulled out his handgun, and shot the list of teachers. "That's what I think of you and your _fucking _class!"

_God, Blaine, what the Hell did that fix?_

"I'm not getting out of here." He wiped his face. "Not until I find that person who came in here."

Blaine grabbed his gun, and started checking classrooms, still with tears in his eyes.

_But you didn't think your situation was bad, did you? Not as a kid. You always told yourself that somebody had it worse off than you. And it was true, wasn't it? That poor girl named Alessa in your class. She always came in with bruises and blood worse than yours, and you tried to talk to her, but she was antisocial. Then she died in an explosion. So you thought that because she was worse, that you should just tough it out, and after that time you told Mr. Rinaldo, you never told another soul about it. But that night, after you told Mrs. Moore, that's when you first met me._

He entered a classroom. "Hello?" He waited. Then he started searching the room.

_I called your name when you were praying at your bed. You were scared, because you didn't know who I was, until you recognized my voice. It was your voice, wasn't it? You asked who I was and I couldn't answer. I still can't. But eventually you got to like me, because every day I would comfort you and make sure you were okay. Eventually we got to be best friends, after Kelly was out of your life._

There was nothing in this room, so Blaine went on to the next.

_I'd talk to you while you were praying, and eventually you stopped doing that, because you didn't need to. I was there for you, all the time, and I made sure you didn't go crazy._

Blaine stopped. "I think I hear something, so be quiet for a minute."

He could hear what sounded like crying, coming from the corner of the room. He walked there, and saw someone lying on the ground in a fetal position, sobbing. She looked at him. ". . .please don't hurt me. . ." She said weakly.

"It's okay." Blaine assured. "I won't. I want to help. My name's Blaine."

She blinked. "Blaine?"

Blaine saw her face. He stepped back.

"_Now, today we're going to make cards for Father's day. Not Blaine, though, because he thinks he doesn't have a father."_

"_It's okay, Blaine."_

He remembered the first time he talked to himself, replacing his best friend.

He was in shock. ". . .Kelly?"

Then he heard things all around him.

"_So what's our kid's name, Blaine. How about Danny? Well, hurry up and pick. You're only allowed out a few more hours."_

"_You and the kid have a fuckin' roast and leave me hot dogs?!"_

"_God the Father. . ."_

"_Maybe if I hadn't married a dumbass like you, I wouldn't have to take a kid to some fuckin' amusement park!"_

He heard voices from everybody he ever knew, all at once, and he felt like his head was splitting open from thoughts, and he fell to his knees.

"_Don't you still want me to be your friend?"_

"_I don't know. . ."_

His body went limp and his head hit the floor.

_I'm out in the school courtyard. It's recess. They let us choose either the play area behind the school, or the courtyard. Not a lot of kids go to the courtyard, and that's why I'm here. They beat me up. Kelly is right beside me._

"_It's okay, Blaine, it's not your fault that Mother is dead."_

"_Yes it is! I could have done more."_

_Than I saw her. My Mother is there, and she's really angry. "Why didn't you do more to save me?! Why did you let me die?!"_

_As I start to cry, it starts raining, and somehow, even though I'm outside, I know that the rain is going through the roof, and everybody gets soaked through. Now I'm alone, and I'm crying, and it's raining, and I don't know what to do._

_Then I met you._

_You walked out from inside me. "Blaine?"_

_Now I'm afraid. I don't know who you are._

"_It's okay, Blaine, take my hand."_

_I look up, and it's a grown-up me._

_That's how I first helped you, Blaine, at your house, wasn't it? You were hopeless, so I came and took your hand. And now I'm walking with you all the time, aren't I._

_Yes, you are, but then Kelly reappears. "Don't you still want me to be your friend?"_

_Yes, I do, but now I have a better friend. I'm sorry, Kelly, but my new friend is always there, and now I play pretend with him. I can play pretend whenever I want now, so I don't need you anymore._

_And she vanishes._

_Don't worry, Blaine, I'll be here whenever you want._

_I know that, but now, the rain is stopped, and I'm happy until I notice that the school is on fire. I can hear everybody screaming around me. And my Mother's voice is there._

"_Blaine! Blaine, wake up!"_

_Mom. . .? What is it?_

"_There's a fire!"_

_And then Amanda comes running out from the school, insulting me, telling me I'm not worth anything unless I. . .but I can't make out the last part._

_So I shoot her._

_And then she's gone, and the school is gone, and Mother's voice is gone, and Kelly is gone._

_There's a long road ahead of me now. I know I have to walk down it, and now I do, with my new friend carrying me, because I don't have the strength to walk by myself anymore._

_Now I can hear Amanda's voice._

"_Wake up!"_

"Wake up, Blaine!"

Blaine's eyes slowly, reluctantly opened.

10


	9. Nightmarish Waltz

chapter eight

When Blaine's eyes opened, the voice disappeared, and he was alone. He couldn't see anything through the choking darkness.

His head hurt, and he held it as he lifted his upper body so that he was sitting on the ground. "Where am I . . .?"

He slowly raised himself to his feet. He pulled the flashlight out of his pocket, and flicked it on.

_You're Not Dead!_

Blaine stumbled back. He looked around. He was in a classroom, but the floors were mesh. Those words were written on the blackboard in blood. Blaine's head throbbed, and he looked down.

Beneath the mesh was an infinite darkness. But there were children, children that couldn't move, bound to the blackness with bloody chains, trying to free themselves. They were writhing and twitching uncontrollably. They were decayed and rotting, reaching their hands for him, calling his name. Then they started screaming.

The sound was like a thousand trains passing beside him.

"_Blaine!"_

He clutched his head, now feeling unbearable pain. He could feel their pain, as one of their hands clutched his angle, pulling him down. Then another one grabbed his arm, but he managed to pull out his gun and shoot the hand.

"_No, Blaine, don't go!" _They were saying. _"We need you!"_

Blaine got to his feet, and found all his limbs heavy. He stumbled and wavered as he walked to the door, desperate to get out. He could hear different voices from the screams of the children.

"_Not even good enough to make your Dad not beat you, huh?"_

"Get away from her!" Blaine said.

"_Would you rather I kick the crap out of you, then your little sister?"_

"Why the _fuck_ not?!" He yelled as he opened the door and fell forward out of the classroom. He was panting from the effort, but the screaming had stopped, and he was relieved, before he starting to notice the ambulance siren in the distance, coming from one end of the hall. He got up again, not daring to look down, hearing the painful moans of the constrained children, wanting him.

The sound started to come closer, and Blaine could have sworn there was an ambulance coming for him, and he ran down the hallway, trying to escape its painful cry. He saw the door to another corridor, and tried to open it. It wouldn't open, no matter how hard he pushed.

Then he could almost see the ambulance speeding towards him, as the sound was joined by a bright light, coming ever closer.

Blaine banged the door. "Somebody help me!"

But his efforts were fruitless, as the noise and the light overtook him, and he was alone. Again, the sound completely penetrated his consciousness, becoming the only thing he was aware of. He felt a punch to his face, then to his stomach, and he doubled over, only to feel a kick to his shin, then two fists on his back, and he was on the ground.

"_Fine. I won't touch your stupid sister. You're more fun to beat up, anyway!_

Then the light and sound vanished around him. He lied there, listening to the moans of the creatures beneath him, then lifted his head.

The door he had tried to open was now gone, like it was never even there. He got to his feet, holding his stomach and limping down the unknown hallway. Then he heard a voice.

"_Don't worry, kid, this'll make you feel better."_

He knew the voice. It was a woman. He felt like he had been hearing the voice for a long time, like a friend. It was coming from a room in the hallway. Blaine swallowed his fear, and opened the door. It was a locker room.

"_Don't break on me."_

It was coming from one of the lockers. It had a dial lock on it. Blaine wouldn't have opened it anyway.

Then the moaning of the creatures ceased. Blaine looked around, before hearing a creaking noise.

The dial was turning by itself.

It slowly went until it hit fifteen, then he heard a loud, unexpected click echo through the room, but he couldn't take his eyes off of it.

It went to ten, then clicked again, then finally to zero, and the lock, as impossible as Blaine knew it was, fell from the locker, and went through the mesh. The door opened.

Inside was a woman he didn't recognize, her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving. Blaine new that he knew her, but he couldn't place her. ". . . Who . . .are you . . .?"

Then her eyes opened, and her look was one of anger. Then she became like the rest of them. Her skin dried quickly, becoming blue, forcing her mouth open, while opening sores on her face. Her skin starting sliding off of her body, and Blaine turned away, only to be grabbed by her. He shook off her hand, only to notice his body had become heavy once more, and he struggled to walk towards the door, until he felt a push on his legs, helping him to walk. He heard the same voice again.

"_C'mon Blaine, you've got to try harder!"_

And he did. He pushed his legs as long and hard as he could, even though the children were grabbing him, and the woman in the locker was coming after him. He closed his eyes and kept walking. Then the floor starting shaking, but his feet remained firm.

"_Keep trying, Blaine! You can do it!"_

Blaine put his arms out in front of him, and felt the knob. His body felt like a weight, so he pushed harder, and slowly twisted the knob. The screaming started again, splitting his head. The door opened, and his body became normal, the force of his effort pushed him to the ground hard. He closed his eyes, and the screaming stopped. The rumbling stopped, and Blaine was exhausted. He opened his eyes again, and once more, saw the children.

They were on fire.

He wanted to help them. He could feel that they needed it, but he could do nothing. He got up, and saw the entrance to the hallway. It was on fire too. His exit was blocked, so he turned the other way.

There was a wall. Blaine stepped back, falling to the floor again. He heard a loud whooshing sound, and suddenly the fire crawled down the hallway, hunting for him. Blaine tried to get up, but an arm reached up and grabbed him, pulling him down. He could feel the intense rage of the children, hotter than the fire, burning him. Then the fire was all around him, and he was trapped, being held down by children, and no matter which way he went, there was fire. It came steadily closer, as more scalding hands from below grabbed him.

Blaine screamed in mortal agony as the flames engulfed him.


	10. You're Not Here

chapter nine

_Now I'm on the ground, lying down at my house. Both my parents are out, and Mom is crying. I just know. Everything is quiet and peaceful when they're gone. Then she runs up to the door and opens it. "Kelly? What are you doing here?"_

"_Mom didn't want me over there, so she told me to come over."_

"_But my parent's aren't home, so you might get in trouble."_

"_Blaine, you have to stand up! I can't talk to you if you don't."_

_I've always been lying down, never wanting to get up, because it's too hard. Every time I try, somebody pushes me back down, like Dad, or the kid that always beat me up. . ._

_Michael?_

_Yes. I try not to remember his name, because I don't want anything to do with him, but he knows my name, and he knows where I am all the time. I hate him so much, that I could. . ._

"_What could you do, Blaine?"_

"_I could kill him, Kelly!"_

"_But he's gone now, so why didn't you do it when we were kids?"_

"_But we're still kids right now, Kelly. I suppose I could do it tomorrow. . ."_

"_Killing people is wrong, Blaine."_

Suddenly everything appeared in front of him, spinning and glowing. He turned his head as his eyes began to slowly focus on the objects around him.

"Are you awake, Blaine?"

He looked where the voice was coming from. Then he pulled himself to a sitting position. He felt tired, nauseous, and sore. "Kelly?" He asked. "Is it really you?"

Her face had shown worry and grief, now she smiled. "Yeah, Blaine, it is me."

He rubbed his eyes. Then his mind was suddenly flooded with memories. He remembered the horrible, chained children, and then the fire, destroying him. He felt sweat on his forehead, and he remembered the feeling, a sensation of pure helplessness, a yearning to be free, feeling the horrible pain and loneliness, and the awful thought that something even worse awaited him afterwards. . .

He bolted to his feet, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, and he stepped back. "No!" He exclaimed. "It can't be you!"

Her smile faded. "Blaine, please, don't do this to me now!"

Blaine stumbled and fell. "But. . .this is how the dreams always end up, with somebody I haven't seen for years. . . and. . . and then. . ." He felt tears just from the memory of all those nights with horrible images floating and whipping through his brain.

She ran up and put her arms around him. "Blaine, calm down, I'm right here."

_C'mon, Blaine, give her a chance. No weird shit is happening. You're not dreaming._

He blinked a few times, before looking up at her. He let all his fears slowly leave him. "Why are you here?"

He then noticed that she was crying too. She managed a smile when she realized he had calmed down. "I came to visit my Dad, but everybody's gone." She didn't seem frightened, just worried.

_Nobody who's seen those creatures could ever be this calm._

"You didn't. . .see anything weird?"

She thought for a moment, and then he really saw her. She had short blonde hair, wearing a red sweater, and she always had her glasses. Not that she had vision problems, but they looked good, so she always wore them. For the first time in a long time, Blaine noticed how much he had missed her. "If you mean besides the fog and the fact that nobody's here, than no."

He thought back to outside the school. "I saw you outside the school, and I yelled, but you didn't answer."

She stared at him for a second. "I don't remember that."

"But you said 'Oh God, not another one!', or something like that."

"That must've been somebody else, Blaine, but I haven't seen anyone."

Blaine grabbed a desk and pulled himself to his feet. "We've got to find her, then." He said as he turned for the door.

Kelly grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. She was crying.

"What's wrong?"

She sobbed. "Why didn't you ever call me, Blaine?"

"Kel, I just—"

"You just what? You did this when we were kids, too!" She started raising her voice. "Then you came back, and we started dating for two years. . . Then you leave me because of some stupid _dream _that reminds of your fucking _Mother_?!"

_All it took was your Mom to hit you once, not even hard, and now you can't trust anybody? Get over it, Blaine!_

He looked at her eyes, and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He realized how truly beautiful he thought she was. He looked back down. "Oh God . . ." He said, slowly, softly. "What have I done . . . ?"

Kelly was crying now, still looking at him. "Why did you have to destroy everything we worked so hard to build in the first place?!"

". . . I'm sorry. . ."

_Don't you get it, moron? Guys and girls are meant to get together! You made a stupid mistake breaking up with her, so fix everything!_

"You can't just _wave _some fucking wand and have it all perfect again, Blaine."

"Kelly, now is _not _the time for this!"

"Well, when is it time, Blaine?!"

"Blaine. . ."

"Not until we get out of this damn town!"

She sobbed. "How are we supposed to do that?! You know we can't get out!"

"Blaine. . ."

"We'll find a way, damn it!"

"And what do you think—"

And then it all ended. Blaine noticed the stop in her sentence, the way the emotion in her voice dropped and died so fast. Then he saw her face; an expression of total pain and bewilderment. Her eyes, like Mother's, accusing him.

Then she fell to the ground before him, without a whimper, without a scream, without life.

"Blaine. . ."

And there it stood behind where she had been. Now it was coming towards him. He was thinking nothing at all. He wasn't sad, he wasn't angry, he was just there, taking in all that had just happened in front of him. He was in shock, unable to comprehend anything around him.

Then it lost him. The feeling of nothing slowly gave way to a feeling of rage. That feeling, old and familiar, grew inside of him.

He hit the creature with the butt of his gun, again and again, until it was on the floor.

He hated the feeling the creature stirred inside him.

"You _bastard_!"

He welcomed it.

Then it was dead. Blaine stopped. He fell to his knees. "Oh God . . ."

He didn't cry this time. He felt no sadness inside him; he was blank. What did this town have for him? He didn't know. Nor was he sure he wanted to find out.

_The expression Kelly had on her face. . .you know it, don't you?_

"_What's wrong, Blaine, look at me."_

"_I'm sorry, Kelly, but I can't."_

_She had put her hand on your shoulder, but you pulled back, then told her it was over. It was that same expression on her face. Maybe that's why you froze when you saw it._

He glanced over at Kelly's body, and his eyes widened. She was gone. Her body had vanished, along with all his hopes of leaving Silent Hill.

_People don't just vanish, Blaine._

"What happened, then? Did I imagine the whole damn thing?!"

_I couldn't tell you, Blaine._

"I don't know what's real anymore. . . It's like I'm sleeping and I can't wake up!" Now he started crying. "It's like I'm in some twisted nightmare! What the _hell _is happening to me?!"

_Don't lose it, Blaine! Not now, when you're so close!_

Blaine stopped crying, and kneeled there, staring at the floor. He slowly pushed himself to his feet.

_Just make it to the convenience store. Everything will be okay then. I promise._

Blaine began walking to the door. "What about that other person I saw in here? That girl. . ."

_You want to find her, don't you?_

"I'm going to find her damn soon. There has to be somebody here who knows what the _fuck _is going on here."

_You only saw her walk in here. This place is too big. You'll never find her._

"If I had run in here, and I was afraid, I'd go to the infirmary."

_Assuming she knows the school well. I know that you want to get out of here, so do it!_

He walked to the infirmary. "This person might know what's going on, though, and damn it, I want to find out!"

_You will, just give it time._

He heard footsteps from beyond the door, and he slowly opened it. "Hello?"

Everything suddenly became black.


	11. Black Fairy

chapter ten

"_Killing people is wrong, Blaine."_

_I felt like I was dreaming, but now I'm back at home, talking to Kelly. "Does that mean what he does is right?"_

"_Two wrongs don't make a right, Blaine."_

_And all because of her, you decided not to do it, but you thought about it, dreamed of its coming, but never went through with it._

_Like she said, two wrongs don't make a right._

"_C'mon, faggot, get up!"_

Once again, Blaine's eyes slowly opened, but he felt strangely rested and relaxed.

"Jesus Christ! Do fuckers like you _ever _get up?!"

He was still in the school, in the infirmary. Everything seemed normal. He looked up from the ground. There, in front of him, stood Michael. He slowly got up. Michael was a short man, about five and a half feet in height. He wore a denim jacket.

Blaine blinked. "Michael? What the Hell are you doing here?"

He was holding a crowbar. "Looking for you, mother fucker! I got a call from that bitch you used to hang out with, what's-her-face, Kelly?"

Blaine's head throbbed. "No way, man. All these people I know just show up here. This has to be a dream, just like other nights. Soon I'm going to wake up."

"So she tells me that the cops are coming for me."

Blaine laughed. "Shut up, this is just a dream. You're not real."

Michael ran up to him, and swung the weapon hard into his stomach. Blaine fell back to the ground. Michael walked around him, spinning the crowbar in his hand. "So . . . you gonna be tellin' the cops what I did?"

Blaine remembered all the rage this man had caused him before. He remained quiet, letting the rage grow inside him.

Michael kicked him hard. "Well?"

Suddenly, Blaine watched as Michael was pulled back by his hair. He saw himself standing behind him.

"Who's the mother fucker _now_?!" He said as he shoved Michael into the infirmary bed, and started punching him. "You hurt me, you hurt Kelly, you forced me not to tell anyone, and you made sure my life was miserable all the time!"

Blaine was on his feet, and he watched himself pull the crowbar from Michael's hand, pull him to his feet, and hit him on the head with it.

He ran up to his other self. "Jesus Christ, don't kill him!"

The other Blaine looked him in the eye. "I can't do that, Blaine, you have to." He said as he handed him the crowbar.

Blaine took it, and saw Michael in pain on the ground. "No. . ." He said. "No way. I can't kill anybody, it's just not right."

Then he faintly heard a siren in the distance.

"Hurry, Blaine, before he gets up!"

The siren became clearer and more distinct. "I can't!"

It became ever louder behind him. "If you don't do it now, you never will!"

Blaine looked at Michael on the ground. The siren was overwhelming. "I can't do it . . ."

The siren overtook him as he closed his eyes.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

Blaine's vision was blurry, as he opened his eyes. His head throbbed with pain.

"Let me help you up." She said kindly.

She helped him onto the infirmary bed, and he sat there, holding his head. He looked up at her, and, for the second time in this building, was shocked. His eyes widened. It was the woman from the locker. Soon, the shock disappeared. He knew her, he felt like he had known her for a long time, but he couldn't place her.

She didn't seem to notice the shock. "I'm so sorry! I saw you in the fog, and I thought you were a . . ." She stopped, probably not wanting to sound crazy.

"A monster?"

She sighed. "I guess so." She seemed genuinely frightened. "You've seen them too?"

Blaine's head throbbed again. "Yeah, they won't leave me alone."

"Well. . ." She continued. "I thought you were one of them, so I ran in here, and when you walked in, I hit you on the head."

He kept his hands to the injury. "Christ! Did you hit me with a truck?"

She laughed nervously.

Blaine looked at the counter behind him. On it laid a crowbar. He got up and walked over to it. "Where did you get this?"

"I found it."

"Where?!"

She thought for a moment. "Uh, I think it was at the hospital."

_You left the crowbar with Amanda before she went off the bridge._

He looked at it more closely. It was definitely the same one. "Amanda. . ."

"What's wrong?"

He turned to face her. "I'm getting out of here." He said. "Are you coming with me or not?"

She seemed surprised from the question. "You're not going out there like that!"

Blaine walked over to the medicine cabinet, found some pain-killers, and swallowed some. "I'm fine." He said as he walked towards the door. He left the room, and she ran after him.

"Wait!" She said, and he stopped. "I guess I'll have to come."

So Blaine turned and looked at her. "What's your name?"

"Carol."

He knew that name, he knew her face, and he knew her voice. "I'm Blaine, so let's get the Hell out of here." They walked to the door.

_click!_

He ran to it, and tried the knob. "Shit! It's locked!" He turned to go back to the infirmary. "Wait here." He grabbed the crowbar and ran back.

He smashed the handle off, and the door swung open. "There!" He said as he turned towards her.

She was gone.

Blaine looked around. "Carol?" He ran up to the hallway. "Carol!" She wasn't there. "Oh Jesus. . . What the Hell is this town _doing _to people?!"

_Calm down, Blaine. Amanda might be at the hospital. She's more important._

Blaine sighed. "You're right. I'd better go."

Keeping the crowbar that had been returned to him, he left the school. As he did, he felt a hand pat him on the back.

_It's going to be alright, Blaine._


	12. My Justice For You

chapter eleven

Blaine walked silently, quickly, wanting to see his sister, wanting everything to end, wanting to get out of Silent Hill, wanting to leave everything he had seen and remembered behind him.

_Remember that one day? You were going to kill Michael, and I supported you, but then you talked to Kelly, and then, all of the sudden, it was "wrong". And I knew it was, but I also knew that he would attack you if he saw you. Self defense. It would have worked, too._

"I didn't want to sink down to his level. I'm so much better a person than he ever was."

_Do you remember why you wanted so much to kill him?_

"Because he hurt me."

_No, because of that one time he beat up Amanda. How did you two drift so far apart? You totally blew her off in the car, than you saw her, and all the sudden, it was like it was back then._

"I made a mistake drifting so far from her, so I fixed it."

_You know you couldn't have really seen him. Michael, I mean._

"Yeah, I know."

_Remember that day? You were so happy. That other poor kid, Alessa, the witch, and the day she proved she was a witch. One day, he just died, and you talked to her, and she said that all she did was think about it, and it happened. You were happy, and started hoping that maybe, just maybe, you could do it too._

"I was wrong."

_You tried it on your Father, and it didn't work. He just got mad at you again, like always. So you went to Kelly. You always protected Amanda, and Kelly, but Kelly also protected you. Every time something happened, you'd run to her. If you couldn't, you'd pray at your bed._

Blaine saw himself beside him. "Then you met me and all of the sudden, you didn't need Kelly, so she was out of the picture."

"Why did you ruin our friendship?"

"Me?! I didn't ruin anything! I'm you, kid. And besides, you two were going out a few years after you moved out, so what's the big deal? _You _ended that relationship, and I had nothing to do with it."

Blaine sighed. "Yeah, you're right. You're always right. Thank you for everything you did. I'm glad I met you. God, if I hadn't met you, I would've gone nuts!"

"You ever notice that there are no weird creatures out here?"

"I've got twenty shots in case one decides to pop up."

They crossed the draw bridge into Central Silent Hill.

"You remember Carol, don't you?"

"No."

"Yes you do! You just don't know where she's from."

"You're right again. I feel like I've known her for the longest, and she was there, in the locker, when everything was . . ." Blaine couldn't finish, he hated talking about it.

"We're here."

They both stood in front of the Alchemilla hospital gates. The other Blaine disappeared.

_I know you don't want to go in there, but you have to._

Blaine pushed the heavy gates open, and walked up to the door.

"_Multiple gunshot wounds! Get him to ICU, and hurry, damn it!"_

He turned the knob, and opened the door. It was empty, just like everywhere else. "Hello?"

He walked in, and closed the door behind him. It was surprisingly bright.

"Oh God, please don't take her away . . ."

He heard those words from the examination room. He walked up to the door, and slowly opened it.

There, on the bed in front of him, was his sister. She was bruised and cut, and unconscious. On the ground near the bed, somebody was on their knees. He was sobbing uncontrollably. He turned his head and looked at Blaine.

Blaine wasn't shocked, only surprised. He was getting used to meeting people he didn't expect to. He almost cried just seeing him right now. "Dad. . ."

He sobbed. "Blaine! Thank God you're here! It's Amanda; I think she's really hurt!"

Blaine silently walked up beside his Father. He turned to him. "Look at me, Dad."

Richard looked at him.

Blaine raised his fist, and punched him hard in the face. "That's for everything you ever did to Mom and I."

"Oh, my damn nose!" His nose was bleeding. He wiped the blood from his face, and then looked at his son. He sighed. "You're right, I deserved that. It was only after your Mother died, that I realized what I had done."

Blaine laughed sarcastically. "Oh, I get it now! That's why you left Mom to take care of me! Kind of a coincidence that you just vanished _the day before _she got shot!"

"I swear I had nothing to do with that! Please, Blaine, we can talk later! We have got to help Amanda!"

He felt his anger inside him again, and he pushed it down. "Fine!" He said. "What happened?"

"I found her near Annie's Bar."

_He likes to go there a lot, doesn't he?_

"She was badly hurt, so I carried her here. I don't even know how I managed to do it, but I knew she needed help."

"Well, what should—" And suddenly, his head throbbed again. "Damn!" And again, until he was on his knees. His vision blurred, and then he heard the siren.

"_She's not going to die! Mom's not going to die! Don't say she's going to die!"_

"_I'm sorry, but she died right when she was shot. . ."_

"_No! She's not dead! She can't die!"_

Then he couldn't see or hear anything.

"_If Mom dies, then I've got nothing anymore!"_


	13. Killing Time

chapter twelve

_I'm on my back, and everything is colourless. I'm hurting really bad, but I don't know why. I'm moving, though, as if I'm in the air, and somebody is pushing me. There are doors on either side of me, and there are sick people, dying people, and crazy people inside them. I'm in my home._

_The walls and floor are on fire, but it's all in black and white, and it doesn't hurt me. I think I'm on a bed. But the bed has wheels. I know the bed very well. I spent a lot of time on it. I didn't want to come back to it, but I always do. Mom's not here, Dad's not here, Kelly's not here, Amanda's not here, but somehow, I'm comforted. Now I've stopped moving, inside a room, a very small room. I can see and hear and move, but I don't want to move. I can see you, standing beside me._

_And I'm comforting you, aren't I?_

_Yes, that's why I'm so comforted all the time, even though I'm alone. You always tell me things are going to be alright, but then you betrayed me._

_I helped you._

_You're hurting me, all the time now. I still need you, though, because you comfort me._

Blaine's head throbbed again, and forced his eyes open. The room was dark, black, and he was alone in it. "No. . ." He said to himself. "Please. . . not again . . ."

Then he noticed the sound. He should've been comforted by the fact that the unearthly silence was gone, but he wasn't. It sounded like a motor.

Blaine took the flashlight out his pocket, closed his eyes, and flicked it on. _I don't want to open my eyes. I don't want to know what's in front of me. . ._

_If you don't look at it, it'll never go away._

He was trembling, afraid of what was there, afraid of everything around him. He opened one eye, and there was a wall in front of it. It was rusted, there was blood running down it. He slowly opened his other, forcing himself not to give in to the fear. Surprisingly, the flashlight wasn't needed. The room was well lit. He looked around. He saw a rusting drying machine. He was in the linen room, on the third floor of the hospital.

He looked down. He could see below, to the second, and then past that, to the basement. The floor was solid there.

"Oh shit. . ." He exclaimed. "How the Hell did I get here?"

_How the Hell did the hospital turn into this, Blaine?_

He saw his crowbar lying beside him, and he picked it up. Then he saw something, in the corner of his eye. He saw feet. He froze. Somebody was standing beside him.

"What are you waiting for, faggot? Get up."

He lifted his head, and saw Michael standing there. Michael's foot flew into Blaine's stomach, sending him hard into the wall.

Blaine slowly got up, laughing sarcastically. "Listen, I know this is a dream, because I saw you get killed years ago, so nice try, but I'm going to wake up now."

Michael reached into his pocket. "Sorry, man, but I ain't dead." He pulled out a handgun. "You are."

Blaine instinctively threw his flashlight at Michael. It stunned him, and gave Blaine the time he needed to run to the door, and out into the hallway.

_Go left! There's an elevator at the end of the hallway!_

Blaine turned down it and ran. The entire floor was still mesh, the walls still rusted and bloody, but he didn't care.

There were holes scattered throughout the floor, and Blaine struggled not to fall. He turned to see Michael rounding the corner, and ducked behind a cart that happened to be next to the wall. The bullet Michael fired hit the cart, and as he ran ever closer, Blaine pushed the cart into him, sending him to the floor. Blaine ran until he found the double doors leading to the elevator. He had to leap a large hole to get to them, and he barely made it.

The doors opened, and Blaine closed them as he entered, shoving his crowbar inside the handles, locking it. He ran to the elevator, and hit the button. He heard Michael pounding the door. "Get out here, motherfucker! I'll fucking kill your sorry ass!"

He turned to the elevator. "Jesus Christ! Hurry!"

He heard the ding that indicated the arrival of the elevator, and the doors opened. He began to step in, when he heard the horrible noise of metal scraping against metal, and the elevator he was about to step into fell into the floor beneath him, hitting the basement floor with a resounding crash.

Blaine stood there, staring with astonishment. "Oh shit!"

_Go to the door, and remove the crowbar!_

"What?! You're fucking crazy!"

_Do it! Please trust me, Blaine!_

He stood there for a moment longer, then to the door, and put his hands on it.

_Pull, damn it!_

And he did, he yanked the crowbar from its position and the door swung open. The sudden sound seemed to surprise Michael, who stood before him.

_Get him!_

Blaine ran up and pushed Michael backwards, too quickly for Michael to react. He fell into the hole behind him, hitting his head on the way down.

He was still moving when he hit the bottom, but was disoriented from the blow to the head. Blaine ran back down the hallway and through the other doors. If he could only get to where Amanda was, he would wait for Michael there, and surprise him.

He ran down the stairs, hearing the door swing open as he passed the second floor. Then he heard a gunshot, but refused to stop. He reached the first floor, ran through the doors, into the entrance hallway, and ran into the examination room. Amanda laid there, on her hospital bed, the heart monitor beeping steadily beside her. Blaine's Father wasn't there.

He left the door wide open, hiding behind it. He could feel his heart pounding hard, his breathing increasing, the adrenaline pumping through his body. Then he saw Michael come in. Blaine slammed the door, making Michael turn around, right into Blaine's fist.

The blow sent the gun, and Michael, to the floor. Blaine grabbed him, and pulled him up, but he quickly turned and punched him in the face, knocking him into the wall.

Michael calmly walked to his gun and picked it up. He aimed it at Amanda.

Blaine saw it, and immediately, everything became slow as he ran with never-before achieved quickness. "I never liked your sister either." Was what Michael said before Blaine tackled him to the ground. The gun went off, and now Blaine stood up over Michael.

He kicked him hard. Then he picked up the gun, and waited until Michael looked at him before he fired.

The look on his face was of pain, confusion, and paralyzing fear. Blaine never felt as content as when he saw that look. He fired again, and the blast forced Michael into the wall. He fired again.

Michael slid down the wall. He didn't move. He was dead.

_That's the only reason you'd ever hurt somebody, isn't it, Blaine? Because of what they do to someone else. . . Never for what they've done to you._

He closed his eyes, before hearing it. A steady noise that he was used to, except he always heard it pulsating.

He turned to see the flat green line of Amanda's heart monitor; the only machine in the room.

"Amanda. . .?" He walked up to her. "Amanda?" Then he noticed the bloody bullet hole in her side. "Amanda!" He shook her.

_You failed to protect her, Blaine._

"Amanda! Please God, don't take her away from me!" He was sobbing uncontrollably.

_Just like you failed to protect Mother._

"No! Wake up! Please! You can't die!" He didn't notice Michael's body vanish, or the room around him fall into nothing. Now they were alone in darkness.

_You protected her for years, but now she's dead._

"What did I do?!" Blaine screamed. "What the _fuck _did I do to deserve this?! Wasn't I good enough?!" He was talking to nothing and nobody. "Everything I've ever done is right! I've never done wrong, and _this _is what happens to me?!"

_I'm a child now, screaming at nothing for hurting me. I'm back at home, and Amanda is still an adult, lying dead in front of me. Then you appear again, with your arm around me._

"_its okay, Blaine. Everything's going to be okay. . ."_

"_No! Every time you say that, things just get worse!"_

"_Things never get better, Blaine. I'm an adult because I realize that. I am helping you realize that as well."_

"_That's not true! Things might get better!"_

_I'm crying all the time, never being able to stop, because all the things that make me cry never stop. "I hate you, Dad. . ."_

"_Your Dad's not here, Blaine."_

_Now everything's falling back again, and I can hear sounds becoming normal._

The world around him now was normal. He awoke on Amanda's hospital bed. She was dead before him. He cried for hours.

_You're crying all the time, aren't you?_


	14. The Darkness that Lurks in our Minds

chapter thirteen

His Father hadn't been there when he returned. He hadn't seen his Father when he had left. The hospital vanished into the fog behind him, but the memory of his visit would never leave him.

"I'm going to the convenience store." He said out loud. "I'm going to find out who killed my Mother, and I'm going to kill them."

_Why?_

"Because it's their fault Amanda is dead."

_What if she hadn't died? Would you still kill whoever did it?_

Blaine thought for a few minutes, walking back to Old Silent Hill, finally going to his destination, the site of his Mother's murder, in front of the convenience store Kelly's Father owned. ". . .Yes."

_Why?_

"Because they hurt Mom."

The other Blaine appeared again. "Why do you never stand up for yourself, Blaine?"

He sighed. "There's a difference between standing up for yourself, and killing somebody."

"You killed Michael, didn't you?"

Blaine turned and pushed him hard, the anger and fatigue showing in his eyes. "_Fuck you!_" He yelled. "You know he was already dead!" He lowered his voice. "I couldn't have killed him."

"He killed Amanda, you moron! He was alive!"

"Then why the Hell was he only there when the place got fucked up?!"

The other Blaine didn't answer.

"Exactly! I don't even know which part of that was real. All I know is. . .she's dead, so some of it must have happened."

The other Blaine disappeared again.

"Blaine?!"

He turned and saw somebody standing there. It was his Father. Blaine ran up to him, the anger whole.

"Blaine. . .no way. You can't be here."

He grabbed him by the collar. "Why did you leave me alone in there?!" He yelled, and he pushed him away. "And believe me, Dad, I'm here."

Robert seemed confused. "But. . .you. . ."

"What?" Blaine said. "You can't form a sentence anymore?!"

"You were dead. . ."

Blaine stepped back. His mouth was open. ". . .what?"

"You fell down, and I checked you, and you were _dead_. . ."

_You were dead._

He felt dizzy, incoherent, nothing seemed to make sense anymore. The world was spinning. He saw himself standing there again.

"Shit. . ." His other self said. "This is getting crazy."

But Blaine could barely understand him. He fell to his knees, but made sure he didn't close his eyes. Not this time. He wouldn't let himself pass out. Not anymore. He had to see what happened.

He heard a loud, persistent rumbling, which seemed to get louder and closer, and then he watched as the road crumbled beneath him, giving way to mesh. It fell into nothing. The fog slowly disappeared, and darkness enveloped him, as heavy as the fog had been. The rumbling stopped. He felt rain pelting his jacket.

The world slid back into focus, as his confusion steadily dissipated. He slowly rose to his feet. Now the entire town was like this, when he was so close to his goal. "Damn it. . ." He said.

"It's your fault your Mother died."

Blaine looked up. His Father wasn't there. He could feel that nobody was there, except himself. "What the Hell are you talking about?!" He said to himself.

"Why the Hell didn't you protect her?"

"Fuck you! I was ten years old!"

His other self walked steadily closer. "But what if you had stopped her from shooting your Mother?"

Blaine thought for a moment. "Her?"

"The one who killed your Mother. Don't you remember who it was? 'Cause I don't. All I remember is that it was woman."

"Of course I don't remember! That's why I'm here! What's wrong with you?"

"You could've done better, Blaine. You could've made everything better. But you didn't. It's all your fault."

Blaine's fist shot out, but was grabbed and twisted, then he felt a blow to his stomach.

"You're just too weak, motherfucker."

Now it was Michael standing there, in front of him. He was kicked hard. "Shit!" He said as he rolled back.

Blaine blinked, and once again, saw himself standing there. "You bastard. I thought you were trying to help me. . ."

"I am helping you. Now get up!"

He got up, and stared at himself. "What do you want?"

"What do _you _want?"

"_Blaine. . ."_

Blaine raised his crowbar, and struck him hard on the head. "Why won't you _leave me alone_?!"

"_Blaine. . ."_

He shot up, and ran into Blaine, pushing him closer to a hole that had appeared on the road.

And they fought.

Creatures came in from nowhere, surrounding them, pushing them closer to the hole.

_It shoots once, but I hear nothing. . ._

"_You and the kid have a fuckin' roast, and leave me hot dogs?!"_

"_Blaine. . ."_

"_Then you leave me because of some dream that reminds you of your fucking Mother?!"_

Both Blaine's were beaten and bruised, and the now numerous circle of monsters closed in around them. Blaine ran at him, but was grabbed, and thrown to the floor, beside the hole.

He was too hurt to fight anymore. The air was filled with the incessant writhing noises of the creatures, until the other Blaine spoke. "See? You're just too weak." He ran and kicked Blaine, sending him down into the hole.

_Now I'm falling, but I can see everything happening to me. My Mother is crying, telling me how wrong I am. My Father is angry, telling me that no matter what I do, things aren't good enough. Kelly is depressed, saying that my past will destroy her future. Amanda is emotionless, telling me that if I had tried harder, things would've been better._

_I'm falling through everywhere I've been. I'm falling through the school, through the chained children. I'm falling through the hotel, watching myself run down the infinite hallway. I'm falling through the amusement, swimming through the river of blood. Now I'm falling through the hospital, hearing everything I've ever heard in seconds._

_I'm still falling, but somehow I'm standing. You walk out from inside me again, telling me that everything is going to be alright, that it never would've been better, no matter how hard I could've tried, but I can't believe you anymore._

_Now I'm at home, on my bed, but something isn't right. Mother is on top of me._

"_Mom?"_

_She doesn't answer. She looks hurt, because her face is all weird, making hurting noises. But now she says she loves me._

"_And isn't that why you tried so hard to protect her, because she always hit you, as much as Dad did, but she loved you."_

"_She told that's how people love each other."_

"_And you believed her, because you thought that was love. It was sick, Blaine."_

"_Stop it!"_

"_No, Blaine! Don't you get it?! Your Mother was as bad as your Father! But you thought she loved you!"_

Blaine was awake. "No! She did love me!"

_Don't you remember the dream?_

He was confused again. "What. . .dream?"

Once again, he saw himself standing there. "The one that made you break up with Kelly!"

Tears ran down Blaine's cheeks again. "Please, stop this. . ."

"You were making love to Kelly, and she turned into your Mother."

Blaine sobbed. "No!"

"You couldn't even stand to look at Kelly anymore, so you couldn't be with her."

He was sobbing over and over. "No. . ." he said. ". . .please, I don't want to remember anymore. . ."

Anybody else would have cried for their mother, but Blaine had nobody to cry to. He cried to himself, and was answered.

_It's going to be alright, Blaine._

He was alone again, in a forest. He looked around. He recognized every single tree he saw.

He was standing beside himself. "You remember this forest, don't you, Blaine?"

"Yes." He answered. He had a smile on his face.

"This is where you and Kelly used to play."

Blaine began walking forward, smiling at the beautiful memories he had, temporarily forgetting all the horrible ones he had pushed back into his head, forgetting that he had forced himself to remember them. "We'd play pretend all the time."

And then he saw another one of himself, only this one was a child. He was playing with Kelly, who was also a child. But everything in front of him was jumping and blurry, like a movie.

"You'd always pretend that everything was perfect, but Blaine, you have to realize, that it wasn't. What did you think of your life when you were back home in Portland?"

Blaine stopped for a moment. "Well. . ." He said slowly. "Pretty normal, I guess. . ."

"Exactly, Blaine. You're life has been nothing but horrible experience after horrible experience, and if you didn't remember it soon, it would've killed you."

He turned to face himself. He laughed. "It _is _killing me! _You're _killing me! All this crap that I repressed . . . I repressed it _for a reason_, dumbass!"

"You would've remembered eventually. It would've driven you totally off the wall."

He looked all around. "Have you even _seen _what's been going on around me?! I'm already off the wall! Hell, I don't even remember what the wall _looked like_!"

"Blaine, you can't be happy until—"

"C'mon, Kelly, I think I hear something."

Both Blaine's turned to see the two children running towards a noise they both seemed to have heard.

"Do you remember this day?"

"Yeah, the day before . . . Mother was shot. The day Dad disappeared."

"Do you remember this part?"

". . . no. . ."

The small children ran behind a bush.

Suddenly, Blaine's head seemed to explode with pain, and suddenly. . .

_. . . I'm a kid again. I heard something that sounded like Mom was hurt again. I used to hear that sound a lot. Almost like a song._

_I can see it, but I can't tell what it is. Mother is there. She's looking around. What is she looking for?_

_I can see two shadows. They're moving . . . almost like a dance._

_Just like butterflies._

_I laugh at this, and then they laugh too. A dangerous laugh, like they're doing something they're not supposed to._

_I can see a white dress on the ground. It was my Mother's favourite. She only wore it on special occasions. Then I hear the noise again. I can't explain what it means. . ._

_Then I can see them both. I can tell who they are. It's my Mother. It's Kelly's Father._

_Now I can understand the sounds I can hear. It's the sound people make when they love each other. That's what Mom told me it was._

_I'm not happy anymore. They're both up against the big tree. But . . . this isn't right._

"_This can't be right!" I turned and saw you standing there._

"_Why can't it be right, Blaine?"_

"_Mother loves me! She can't love anybody else! It's not right! This can't be right!"_

_Then I turn and look at Kelly. She's crying on the ground. I don't understand why. Her Dad never loved her, but my Mother always loved me. She can't love anybody else! I step out from the bushes._

"_Mom! You can't love him! You love me!"_

_Then, for no reason, she's got the dress on again, and she's walking up to me. I've never heard anything so vicious and angry before. "I'll tell you what I can do!"_

_Now I'm cry again. This always happens. Nothing good lasts. Ever. I don't have a family. Kelly and Amanda are my only family. I turn and run. I grab Kelly's hand and pull her with me._

_My Mother is chasing us both now. Our feet are rustling through the grass, like they always do when we're playing._

_But then I trip, and Mom catches up to us. She's picked up a big stick. "Fucking little brat!" She yells._

_But Kelly steps between us, and holds out her hands. She's crying like I've never seen before. I don't like it at all._

_But Mom hits her, too, and she falls down. Then she hits me._

"_Maybe if you two weren't so fuckin' ungrateful!"_

_She hits me again._

"_You have to dive in, Blaine, or else you'll never know what happened."_

_She hits me until I can't see very well._

"_Yeah, looking at a dumb bitch! Get in the goddamn car; we're going back to the damn hotel to find your fucking money!"_

_Now she picks me up. "If anybody asks, tell them Michael beat you up again."_

"_Why the fuck didn't you protect her, Blaine?!"_

_She leaves me there, and goes back to the big tree._

_I look and see you there again. Why are you doing this to me?_

"_You have to dive in, Blaine, or else you'll never know what happened."_

Blaine blinked. "Maybe I don't want to know what happened."

"You're going to wake up, okay?"

"Alright."

His eyes opened.


	15. Maternal Heart

chapter fourteen

At first, he couldn't tell where he was. He was lying down, in what felt like grass. He tried to get up, but the horrible pain in his side forced him back down. He coughed. Blood came out of his mouth. He was hurt from the fight he had engaged in with himself.

He saw himself there again, standing above him, looking down at him. He looked at him.

Blaine looked back. "I guess it wasn't a dream, after all. . ." He said, wiping the blood from his mouth. He could barely speak. "We actually fought?" He chuckled. "It was real?"

The other Blaine offered him a hand, and he accepted it, and was pulled to his feet. "Yep."

"Where are we?"

"Look around you, Blaine."

He turned his head and looked. There were trees, and houses. He saw a mailbox.

_The Halorens_

He was outside his home. Less than a block from the convenience store. He wasted no time. The moment he realized where he was, he started walking towards his goal. And then he saw her, standing there. He looked hard to see who it was.

"It's your Mother, Blaine."

He saw a child standing next to her. It was himself, as a child. They were walking away, towards the convenience store. Blaine limped along after them.

"_Are you sure you don't want to go to the school for the performance, honey?"_

In his dream, the performance had been in a theatre across the street that didn't exist.

"_Yeah. I want to go outside tonight. Silent Hill is so cool at night. Everything's quiet."_

The turned the corner, into the parking lot of the convenience store. Blaine was following them as fast as he could, dealing with the pain shooting up and down his body. As he turned the corner, he watched them enter the convenience store. . .

And he heard a gunshot. "No!" He yelled. Another blast. He ran to the door. It was locked. The sign had been flipped over, so it read "closed".

And he saw himself inside, on the ground; eyes wide open in shock, his breathing in short, quick bursts, blood coming out of his mouth. Blaine remembered the pain. His stomach flared, as if he'd just been shot. He forced himself to look up, through the glass. The assassin stood there, the gun smoking in her hands. The one who had shot him.

His mother.

He stood at the window, his mouth trembling, his body shaking uncontrollably, but his eyes refused to look away, no matter how hard he tried to dissuade them. He watched as his Mother turned around, to look at the convenience store owner, Kelly's Father. She laughed, as she leaned in and kissed him. Then another gunshot sounded.

"No!"

Her eyes widened as well. She backed away, her mouth gaping open. Then two more gunshots and she fell backwards.

Kelly's Father stood there, with the gun in his hands, smiling. He took out her I.D. and put it on her body. He started walking to the entrance.

Rage was Blaine's dominant emotion now, and he was shaking the door violently, trying to open it. "Yeah?!" He yelled. "Come here, you son of a bitch!"

But the man stopped. He seemed to hear something. Blaine could hear it too; the sound of breathing. The Blaine who was on the floor was still alive, so he turned, pointed his gun, and fired. All of the sudden, they were gone. The Child Blaine was gone, his dead Mother was gone, and the convenience store was empty.

Blaine wasn't shaking the door anymore. He fell to the ground, on his knees, still shaking. "No. . ." He muttered. "It can't be true. . ."

His other self put his hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Blaine. . ."

He shoved it away. "No!" He yelled. "This is all your fault! Get the fuck away from me!"

Then, he felt something cold, on his chest, and it spread until it wrapped around his back and through his insides, until he was chilled to the bone. Something had passed through him. He turned around, and his Father walked through the convenience store door, turned and looked at him.

_Rock-a-bye baby on the tree-top. . ._

He laughed. "It's too bad he couldn't quite finish you off, isn't it?" And he walked to the back of the store, through the double doors.

_When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. . ._

Blaine raised his crowbar and smashed the glass. "Get back here!" He yelled as he unlocked the door from the inside. Everything seemed to slow down as he ran through the store, the horrible memories of his childhood flashing through his eyes. Everything was cold and dead, and the store seemed abandoned for centuries.

"_What if they made a mistake! She's never going to die! She's my Mother, she's not allowed!"_

He opened the double doors, and an impossibly large hallway stretched before him. Without hesitation, he ran. The walls seemed to twist and bend, as monsters crawled from them, coming for him. They bled, covering the floors that Blaine steeped on, so that for every step he took, he was accompanied by a splash. Then the rain began, coming from the ceiling, hard, soaking Blaine down to his bones.

_When the bow breaks, the cradle will fall. . ._

And yet, he kept running. The hallway grew longer as he ran, the monsters reached form him faster and stronger. More than a few times, he felt the cold, bloody hand of one of them grabbing his shoulder, trying to destroy him, but he pushed them all away with previously undiscovered strength.

"_Maybe if you two weren't so fuckin' ungrateful!"_

His feet hit metal on the ground, and he knew that it was changing again, changing to the world that had haunted his dreams, and had slowly slipped into the ever-changing reality that was Silent Hill. If Blaine ever had a vision of Hell, _this_ is what it would look like; rusted mesh floors, unspeakable beasts hunting for you, as the walls twist and turn, bleeding, and a hard, cold rain pelting him relentlessly.

_And down will come baby. . ._

And then he could see it, just vaguely, in the distance, far ahead of him. It was the door to his house, the door that had been locked, that he never wanted to open. But if he didn't open it now, he'd never have another chance. Before he knew it, he was in front of the door, the door that held all the answers, all the questions. Blaine's hand trembled on the knob, not sure if he wanted to know what lay ahead of him.

_Cradle and all. . ._


	16. Ending One: My Heaven

**punishment ending**

Blaine threw himself into the wooden door, and it smashed open, breaking off the hinges. His shoulder now throbbed with pain, along with his side and his stomach, but he pushed himself further; he wouldn't let it get to him. He fell to the ground from the force of his efforts, and immediately got back up.

The entire town of Silent Hill, grotesque and bloody, stretched before him. Behind him was the door to the convenience store.

"_Where are you?!_" Blaine screamed. "_Where _are you?!"

Then, from behind him, he heard a faint creaking noise, and he bolted around, whipping out his handgun.

His Father stood there, and laughed. "Sorry, Blaine, that's not going to work this time."

The gun clicked as Blaine tried to fire it. He threw it to the side. "So what, then? You made up all that shit about caring for Mom, or Amanda, or even me?"

He laughed again. The rain started coming down again, and lightning lit the sky as thunder shook the ground. "No. I didn't make it up."

"Oh! Okay, that's why you said, hmm, what was it? Oh yeah: 'It's too bad he couldn't quite finish you off'!" Blaine ran up to man and punched him in the face. "Fuck you! Fuck you for everything you did! You. . ." He felt the tears welling up inside him. "You gave me such a. . .such a poor definition of what _love _is. . ." He sobbed, but his voice showed anger. "You made me think what my Mother was doing to me was _love_!" He kicked him as hard as he could. "Kelly _loved _me! Why did you leave?! Why did you _disappear_?! Why did you leave me alone?!" He stood there, enraged, over his wounded Father, waiting for an answer.

Again, Robert laughed in front of him. "What?! I'd be the first person accused! I couldn't have that!"

". . . You ruined my life, Dad. . ." His voice sounded like that of a child.

Robert lifted himself back up. "God damn it, kid. . . You still just don't get it, do you?"

"Get what, Dad? That everybody in my sick, twisted, fucked up family hates me?"

"No, that it wasn't me!" He managed another laugh. "Jesus, kid! Your Mother _raped _you!"

"_Fuck you_!" Blaine yelled as he grabbed his Father, and pulled him to his feet.

"Blaine, I—"

He punched his Father hard in the face, and shoved him against the wall, grabbed his hair, and pulled it back. Never was he this angry before in his life. His Father screamed in pain. Blaine took out his crowbar, and hit his across the face. He was on the ground. Blaine kicked him again.

"_You're _the one who fucked Mom up so much!" He wasn't crying, or sad. "Everything that's happened to me is _your fucking fault_!" He hit him over the head again, and again, until he wasn't resisting, until he wasn't breathing anymore. "It was _all your fault_. . ."

_Beep_

"Blaine, it was your Mother who did this to you!"

Blaine leaned against the convenience store, and sobbed. His other self walked over to him. "I know it's hard, but you have to realize—"

Suddenly, Blaine punched him hard, grabbed his head, and slammed it against the brick building. He kicked him, and he was sent to the ground. "_You _dragged me into this!"

The sky lit up with a bolt of lightning, the ground began to shake, like an earthquake. The look in Blaine's eyes was solid hatred, for the man who made him remember all the horrible things in his life. He kicked him again. His words held a hatred that was pure and unequalled. "If _you _hadn't done this to me. . ." He hit him hard with the crowbar. "Then I would've been _happy_! Why did you _do _this to me?!"

Now the other Blaine was injured, on the ground, not wanting to get up. "I just wanted to make you realize that it wasn't your fault."

"It _was _my fault." Now he was crying again. "I know why I'm here, now. This is all my fault. If I had only been a better son. . ."

"_Blaine. . ."_

"No! You can't think of it like that!"

_Beep_

"But it is!" He fell to his knees. The convenience store crumbled into dust behind him. Other building cracked and fell, and pieces of the ground fell into the infinite, black abyss.

_Beep. . .beep. . ._

He could hear voices from the sky. _"Everyone, hurry! Come quick!"_

"Blaine!" His other self said. "Remember the TV?"

"_Blaine. . ."_

"The girl got shot and is in a coma?! I tried to tell you, Blaine! I really did!"

The horrible moans of the monsters were almost all Blaine could hear, as they surrounded him. "I'm here to be punished."

_He's going into shock!_

"I don't deserve half of what I've got. . . my Mother said it. . ."

"No, Blaine, you can't believe her! She's not right!"

_Blaine! No, God, please don't!_

The monsters closed in, through the shaking ground, the lightning-lit sky.

"I don't deserve anything anymore. . ."

The monsters were upon, clawing at him, biting him. His other self screamed in agony.

_No! Please, Blaine, no!_

_It's a perfect day, and only my Mother and I are there._

Blaine was smiling, as his flesh was torn away from him.

_I'm back at my house with Mom. Dad's gone now. Everything is happy. Kelly is gone. Amanda is gone. Everybody but my Mother and I are gone. I love her, and she loves me._

He screamed a terrible cry of pain.

_No! Blaine! No!_

In a hospital in Portland, a heart monitor that had been keeping a steady beat for so long, finally became quiet.

_We're so happy. . ._

**THE END**


	17. Ending Two: Overdose Delusion

**delusion ending**

Blaine threw himself into the wooden door, and it smashed open, breaking off the hinges. His shoulder now throbbed with pain, along with his side and his stomach, but he pushed himself further; he wouldn't let it get to him. He fell to the ground from the force of his efforts, and immediately got back up.

The entire town of Silent Hill, grotesque and bloody, stretched before him. Behind him was the door to the convenience store.

"_Where are you?!_" Blaine screamed. "_Where _are you?!"

Then, from behind him, he heard a faint creaking noise, and he bolted around, whipping out his handgun.

His Father stood there, and laughed. "Sorry, Blaine, that's not going to work this time."

The gun clicked as Blaine tried to fire it. He threw it to the side. "So what, then? You made up all that shit about caring for Mom, or Amanda, or even me?"

He laughed again. The rain started coming down again, and lightning lit the sky as thunder shook the ground. "No. I didn't make it up."

"Oh! Okay, that's why you said, hmm, what was it? Oh yeah: 'It's too bad he couldn't quite finish you off'!" Blaine ran up to man and punched him in the face. "Fuck you! Fuck you for everything you did! You. . ." He felt the tears welling up inside him. "You gave me such a. . .such a poor definition of what _love _is. . ." He sobbed, but his voice showed anger. "You made me think what my Mother was doing to me was _love_!" He kicked him as hard as he could. "Kelly _loved _me! Why did you leave?! Why did you _disappear_?! Why did you leave me alone?!" He stood there, enraged, over his wounded Father, waiting for an answer.

Again, Robert laughed in front of him. "What?! I'd be the first person accused! I couldn't have that!"

". . . You ruined my life, Dad. . ." His voice sounded like that of a child.

Robert lifted himself back up. "God damn it, kid. . . You still just don't get it, do you?"

"Get what, Dad? That everybody in my sick, twisted, fucked up family hates me?"

"No, that it wasn't me!" He managed another laugh. "Jesus, kid! Your Mother _raped _you!"

Blaine punched him again. "Shut up! I know that! I just. . .I could never hurt her. . ."

His nose was bleeding. "Why, Blaine? Weren't you always an angry guy? You killed Michael! I watched you beat those two monsters until they were practically a liquid, for Christ's sake!"

Blaine's eyes narrowed. "You watched me?"

"No, Blaine, _I_ didn't watch you!"

The skies flashed with lightning. Blaine heard a loud crash, as he watched the convenience store crumble into dust, and fall beneath the mesh. Both their voices were nearly drowned out by the rain and thunder. "What? What are you talking about? You just said—"

"_Blaine!_" The voice screamed. It was so loud it hurt Blaine's ears.

He covered his ears. "Shit! Why is everything fucked up like this _now_?!"

_Because. . ._

He heard the all-to familiar voice in his head.

_Now you know the Truth._

The ground shook beneath him. "No!" Blaine yelled. "He didn't tell me! How did you see me?!" His head felt like it was splitting open. He felt like he was going to pass out, but he wouldn't.

"_Oh God! Everyone hurry!"_

". . . Amanda?"

The ground began to shake more and more violently, until buildings were collapsing everywhere, and webs of lightning covered the sky.

_Beep_

His arms felt tingly and strange, like thousands of needles were all over them. Suddenly his body became unbelievably heavy and he fell backwards, hitting the ground hard.

_Beep_

The beeping sound was one he knew well, he had memorized it, and it had become every bit a part of his new life as his new home. He saw himself standing beside him, though his vision was getting blurry, and he could hardly make him out. His voice was getting distant as well.

"_Remember what brought you here, Blaine? The television, the girl was shot, and now she's in a coma? That never happened."_

_I don't know. . .what's happening. . ._

"_Nothing happened."_

"_Come quick! Amanda! Get Amanda!"_

"_That's. . .Carol's voice . . ."_

_Now everything was a white void, becoming clear again, forming new shapes._

"_It was all just—"_

Blaine inhaled sharply. His eyes opened quickly and painfully. His lungs hurt. The light was too bright, even though there was barely any. He lifted his arm to cover his eyes, before realizing that his arm barely moved. He saw what looked like a human figure running at him. He was terrified. When he tried to scream, only a soft whisper came out. "Where. . . am . . . I . . .?"

He heard a reassuring voice. "It's okay, Blaine. You're safe now. Everything's going to be alright." She was crying, but she was happy.

_Amanda?_ Blaine thought. He reached up and put his hand on her face. "Why. . .?"

"Don't talk, Blaine." She said, and she threw her arms around him.

Amanda sat next to him, and he simply looked around the room he had been confined in for so long. It felt strange. Everything felt different now, just being alive felt so different. He turned to Amanda. "What. . .happened to me. . .?"

She smiled, just being happy that he was talking again, but she was still crying. She tried to open her mouth to talk a few times, but nothing ever came out.

Somebody else walked into the room. Blaine recognized her. "Excuse me." He said. "Who are you?"

"It's a good thing that you're finally awake, kiddo." She took a chair and sat down next to him. "My name's Carol Girard. I was your physiotherapist."

Blaine remembered being in the school. He remembered how he couldn't walk, and he felt something help him, pushing him along. _"Don't worry, kid, this'll make you feel better."_

"Actually," Carol continued. "You almost woke three or four times today."

He remembered every time the world around him changed, he felt detached from it. Those were the times he had almost awoken. That meant he had lived nineteen years in four years, but his adventure through Silent Hill was only one day.

"How. . .long has it been since I was shot?"

Amanda didn't seem comfortable discussing it, but she answered. "Um. . . about four years."

He had live nineteen years of a life that didn't exist. He still felt twenty-nine, but he was only fourteen. "Holy shit. . ." Than a thought had occurred to him. If he had gone into a coma right away. . . "What about Mom?!" He said urgently.

Amanda sighed. "She's dead, Blaine. She died instantly."

Once again, and yet for the first time in years, Blaine cried.

He was in the hospital for weeks. It took three weeks of physiotherapy before he could walk on his own again, but he was optimistic about it. It was a full two months before he was out of the hospital, taking the bus back to Silent Hill, to get the rest of his stuff. They had put him and Amanda in foster care. He was going to look up Kelly again, but she had moved. He knew that their relationship had ended long ago anyway. The bus drove up to the observation deck, the most scenic area in Silent Hill, and Blaine told them to let him off.

As he walked up a parking lot where James Sunderland would walk several years later, he saw himself standing there. "And that's the whole reason you made me drive to Silent Hill in the first place, isn't it?"

His other self nodded. "Uh-huh. Any longer in that coma would've killed you."

They were both quiet, enjoying the look of the lake. Blaine spoke up. "So, I'll those times I was in the fucked up place, and I heard people say 'wake up', that was real people telling me to wake up?"

"Yep. You were right on the verge of waking up many times, Blaine."

"So, you just wanted to get me to learn all that shit I learned before I woke up, is that it?"

"No." He laughed. "_You're_ the one who had to deal with it all, Blaine."

"Well, I guess we'd better start walking back to my place." He said as he started walking towards the forest path.

"Aren't you going to look Kelly up again?"

Blaine chuckled. "You know what? I've dealt with all my problems over four years now. I really don't need this shit anymore. Kelly and I aren't friends anymore."

"What about all those times in the coma. . .?"

"I need to help Amanda right now. I can still help her. She's been watching me stay half dead for four years. I don't need to talk to Kelly right now."

_Are you sure, Blaine?_

"I'm sure."

_Well, it's your decision._

They started walking into the forest path leading into Silent Hill, and Blaine had chosen. He had chosen the person who had been with him all his life, over the person who had loved him.

_You still have me, after all. . ._

Meanwhile, in a small hospital in Silent Hill, a young girl named Alessa quietly slipped into a nightmare. . .

THE END


End file.
